Plains, Trains, and Plantains
by Katlizabeth
Summary: AU: Maka is senior in high school, and goes to visit her friend Tsubaki at Shibusen University for Halloween weekend. She's come to have fun, but she gets more than she bargained for when she makes friends with a really sweet guy with white hair and red eyes. rated M for future lemons and limes.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Okay wow, so this is my first fan fiction ever to manifest itself into a full chapter… Be kind, please. I'll apologize now for Hiro existing in this, but every story needs a bad guy right? And I'd like to thank my wives and editors Bitter November and Glitter Goat, without them. This story would be much worse crap.

Trains, such pleasant way to travel. Even sitting in coach class, Maka was still very comfortable as she adjusted her backrest, and continued to peer out at the landscape. It was so scenic, who knew the Nevada Desert could be so beautiful at sunset? The vast plains stretched out for miles, the cacti and rock formations were cast in tones of bright oranges and deep violets from the sleepy sun; it was gorgeous. Maka only hoped that the passenger sitting next to her hadn't noticed that she had stolen his window seat. She had gotten there before him when she had boarded the train, and even though she was assigned the aisle seat, she couldn't help herself. She wanted to see out the window.~

At this point, Maka had been on that train for a few hours. She had left school early Friday to catch this train to spend Halloween weekend with her older friend Tsubaki, at the college she was attending. Her parents were hesitant about agreeing to let her go at first, but Tsubaki always had a way of convincing her parents otherwise. She wanted Maka to spend time with her because, in her opinion, Maka didn't know how to have any fun. Perhaps she was right. Since all of her friends graduated last year, Maka's life didn't involve much more than going to school and going home. She supposed she was overdue for some fun, and despite her gut instincts telling her otherwise, Maka would be open minded about whatever Tsubaki had planned.

She had been dropped off at the LA Union Station about half an hour before boarding, giving Maka a chance to look around. The station was grand with its marble architecture, impressive food court downstairs, and built in shopping mall. After exploring and some light shopping, she went to the kiosk and got her ticket. Maka waited in line at the gate until the Amtrak employee checked her ticket and directed her where to go. Her small roll-on bag was noisy against the concrete as she exited the terminal and made her way to the coach class car.

The passenger sitting next to her didn't seem to notice or mind that she had robbed him of his spectacular view. Upon his arrival, he kicked his feet up and stretched out, arms crossed behind his head. The hoodie he wore looked comfy and warm. It made her feel thankful that she had the sense to take her sweat shirt out of her suit case before boarding the train. The AC was on too high and the cold was a bit uncomfortable. Maka reached under her seat to grab her purple fleece lined hoodie, she fed her arms through the sleeves zipped it up to her waist. She took one more glance at her companion to make sure she hadn't disturbed him. Though his hood was up and she couldn't see his face, Maka could tell he was sleeping by the light snoring sounds he was making.

Maka watched the world go by in her little railway car until sundown; after that, the only scenery to be seen was the silhouettes of the horizon against a starry sky. They had just made it past Las Vegas when she decided to turn on her overhead light and start reading her book. It was when she did this, that her passenger stirred. He sat up in a daze taking in his surroundings. He scratched his head noting how dark it was outside.

"Ahh... s'cuse me?" Maka looked up to address the boy sitting next to her, who had taken his hood off revealing a fringe of white hair and tired burgundy eyes.

"Do you know what the next stop is?" He asked rubbing the back of his neck sorely. He must have slept on it wrong.

"Yeah, it's Death City." She informed, checking her watch. "We're going to be there soon actually."

"Ah, sweet I didn't miss it then." He sighed in relief sitting back in his seat. He must have been really out of it to not hear the intercom.

"So... you're getting off there too?" She asked as he wrapped his headphones around his mp3 player.

"Yeah, you going to school up there too?" He shoved his device in his pocket and pulled his backpack out from under his chair.

"Nah, I'm just visiting a friend for the weekend. I'm still in highschool." She admitted coyly. He nodded and smirked at her.

"That must be exciting. Well, be careful out there. Halloween weekend is a pretty rough time to party; easy to find trouble."

"Ugh, I hope we're not partying." She grimaced, unamused. "I have no idea what she has in store for me." The train slowed to a stop. Over the intercom, the conductor announced that those bound for Death city should deboard at that time. The two rose from their seats and the white haired boy shot her a smirk.

"That really sucks, I wish you the best of luck." The boy took her hand and helped her out of the row. Maka reached over head and grabbed her carry-on. "Thanks, I'll need it"

"Well," he said while they exited the train. "See ya around campus I guess."

"Yeah, nice meeting you." She waved to him as he disappeared into the crowd of cars and people.

"Maka-chan!" She heard a female voice shout not but a moment later. She looked around to see Tsubaki, an impressively tall girl with an equally impressive figure. She had long black hair, which was tied up, and deep navy blue eyes. There was someone with her, a guy who Maka thought she remembered being named Hiro. He had short, very vibrantly blonde hair, and bright blue eyes. He was much thinner than she remembered him to be, and the skinny jeans he wore only emphasized that. Maka watched the two close in on her. She knew then, her college weekend adventure had begun.

Maka had been introduced to Hiro a few days prior on skype, but she hadn't been expecting him to come with Tsubaki to pick her up; nor had she expected him to sit in the backseat with her while Tsubaki drove them to campus. That didn't seem necessary. Was Tsubaki even okay with chauffeuring them around town? She seemed to be. From the back, Maka could see the smile Tsubaki wore in the rearview mirror.

People weren't kidding when they said the desert was cold at night. The inside of the car was freezing from sitting too long in the parking lot. Outside, the streets of Death City were well lit with street lamps and neon signs. Even in the dark and frigid temperatures, Maka couldn't help but find the city quite charming. Maka could feel the heater start to warm up the car while Hiro began to make small talk.

"So, you're from LA right?" he asked Maka who had since spaced out from basking in the warmth.

"Hmm? Oh yes, Tsubaki and I went to school together. Is that where you're from as well?" Maka agreed politely.

"San Francisco." He corrected. Maka nodded

"Thats cool."

"So what do you do for fun in LA?" He inquired. Maka looked up in thoughtfulness.

"Well there are lots of museums, night clubs, Hollywood, La Brea Tar Pits, lots of stuff. There are plenty of things to do." He laughed and scooted a bit closer.

"No, I meant what do YOU do for fun?" Maka glanced around awkwardly.

"Um... I uh, read..." He chuckled, which made Maka blush bashfully.

"Is that all you do?" he questioned further and Maka had that thoughtful expression on her face again.

"Well I...um.. Do homework, and hang out with friends..."

"Do you have a boyfriend?" She sputtered at this and Hiro laughed whole-heartedly. He began patting her shoulder to soothe a now very tense Maka.

"It's okay Maka, Tsubaki filled me in on your track record with boys."

"She did WHAT?" Maka looked to Tsubaki, who seemed very apologetic. She was beet red now. Maka leaned over and covered her face with her hands. "...and what exactly did she tell you?"

"Not much... Just that guys don't give you much attention because of your chest size. And that you don't have much experience..."

"Tsubaki!" Maka sat up to give her friend a horrified look.

"I'm so sorry Maka-chan... I was just making a point that you deserved better!"

"This is humiliating..." she groaned as she leaned into the side of the car. He began patting her shoulder again in comfort. "Nooo it's okay, Maka. Don't be embarrassed."

"You didn't need to know ANY of that."

"It doesn't matter; doesn't change how I see you." She sighed having the confidence to sit back up.

"Besides, I think you're really pretty." Hiro assured.

"Oh... uh.. Thank you." Her fingers played with the ashy blond hair in her ponytail in nervousness as he put an arm around her shoulder.

"Yeah, you're a beautiful girl." In the front seat Tsubaki could be heard giggling.

After what seemed like forever, they pulled into Tsubaki's dorm building parking lot Eibon Hall. Eibon Hall was a three story Co-ed dorm, where the basement and the first floor housed boys and the second and top floor belonged to girls. They walked up the three flights of stairs and down the hall to her room.

This room definitely looked bigger through a webcam. It was a ten by ten concrete square with a window and 6 pieces of unattractive bedroom furniture provided by the university. How did two people live in this space without bumping into each other all the time; the mere thought made Maka claustrophobic. Other than the space issues, Tsubaki and her roommate made the room look really cute with all of the posters and decorations that covered the wall. Hiro took a seat by the window and Maka and Tsubaki sat on her bed. They chit-chatted until they heard a knocking at the door.

"Tsubakiiiiiiii" A voice called as Tsubaki answered the door. "Oh good, you're back. Could you help me with Patty's hair? I can't figure out how to do those pin-up curl things."

"Oh, hey Liz-chan! Oh, come in there's someone I want you to meet." Liz was a tall girl with impressively long blond hair. Her makeup was done, but she donned a bathrobe and pajama bottoms. She looked as though she was in the middle of getting ready.

"Oh, hey is this your friend that's staying with you? Hi, I'm Liz." She looked up to address the blonde boy by the window. "Sup Hiro."

"Sup Liz."

"Hi, I'm Maka."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Maka." Liz smiled "Oh Tsubaki, you need to see Patty's costume. She's so cute!"

"I'll be right back, okay guys?" Hiro nodded. "See ya, Tsubaki." She closed the door and the two sat in silence for a moment.

"So... You wanna make out now or later?"

"Ehhh... What!" Hiro got up and took a seat next to her on the bed. Maka shifted uncomfortably.

"You haven't done that with anyone before, right? Wanna try?"

It was true. Maka had only ever been kissed once, and that was during a game of truth or dare when she was fifteen. She was honestly curious about what it was like, and Maka figured that college was all about experimentation. And she had promised herself and Tsubaki that she would be open minded this weekend. So, she once again ignored her gut instincts and agreed to try this with Hiro.

"...I don't think I know how to make-out, though."

"It's okay, just follow my lead." It was then that Hiro placed his mouth over hers, and began moving his lips rapidly against hers. The inexperienced Maka, not sure of what to do attempted to move her own lips to synchronize with Hiro when he stopped her.

"Mmmm, no. You're not doing it right. Here, hold still and let me show you." He placed his hands on her shoulders and continued his ministrations, except this time against Maka's closed unmoving mouth. The open and closing motions he made against her lips felt strange to her. After a few moments Maka opened her eyes and awkwardly glanced around the room; wondering how long this was going to last when finally, he broke the 'kiss'. Maka stared at the hands in her lap, too embarrassed to make eye contact with him.

"Ehh... sorry, I guess I'm not that great of a kisser."

" You'll get better... Wanna try again?"

"Uhhh..."

It was then the door opened and Tsubaki returned.

"Ahaha, did I interrupt something?" Damn that Tsubaki, with her raised eyebrow and smirk.

"... No! Y..you're not interrupting anything! Come in! Stay! have a seat..." Maka was spazzing and that's when Hiro stood up and adjusted his clothes.

"Aww, you're leaving Hiro?" Tsubaki asked and Hiro nodded. "Yeah I have a party to go to, and besides..." He looked to Maka who's tomato like face was currently turned towards the floor with her hands placed firmly in her lap. "I think this one has had enough for tonight."

She made a squeak and he chuckled.

"I'll see you later Maka."

Tsubaki waited until Hiro was gone and out of hearing range to jump, squeal and clap out of excitement. She raced to join Maka on the bed and grab her by the shoulders.

"Oh my gosh, Maka-chan! I'm so happy for you! How was it?"

"Tsubaki..."

Noticing her strange reaction, she bent down to get a better look at Maka. The expression Maka wore was a mix between discomfort and queasiness. Tsubaki soon became concerned.

"Are you okay, Maka-chan?"

"...It was like he was trying to eat my face!" Tsubaki couldn't stop herself from laughing, making Maka grimace until she calmed down.

"I didn't really enjoy it. I don't think I like Hiro that much either." Tsubaki stared at her for a bit before nodding.

"I understand Maka-chan, thats fine. Don't force yourself to do anything you don't want to do."

"Well, I don't plan to."

The two spent the rest of the evening getting into the Halloween spirit by watching dvd's. They popped in a traditional holiday favorite, Rocky Horror Picture Show, and fantasized about how one day, they would go to a midnight showing. Even though Maka was very conservative when it came to sex and promiscuity, that did not mean she didn't enjoy the cult classic. She felt as though it was all in good fun and she found the insanity quite hilarious. This only came to show Maka could be a good sport at times. They had made it to the dinner party scene when Tsubaki's roommate came home.

"Welcome back, Kim."

"Hi, Tsubaki! Is this Maka? Hey, what's up?" Kim asked as she took off her jacket.

"Hey, Kim-chan! It's nice to finally meet you!"

Maka got up from the bed and exchanged a casual hug with Kim. Kim was a very sweet looking girl with her pink hair cut short in a bob. She wasn't very tall, probably around Maka's height, but there was something about her that seemed whimsical and cute.

"So, where did Ox end up taking you?" Tsubaki asked as Kim climbed up on her mid loft bed and opened her computer.

"We actually had a lot of fun, which was a surprise because he was broke as usual." Tsubaki giggled at the grimace on Kim's face, but she pressed on.

"We went to that haunted house thing near Hook Cemetery, you know that thing we keep seeing flyers for all over campus? The people who set it up actually did a really awesome job, and it was only two dollars admission!"

"Maka-chan, we should do that tomorrow!" Tsubaki suggested excitedly; Maka didn't seem nearly as enthused. "I don't know Tsubaki, you know how I get when I'm startled."

"Oh, you'll be fine Maka-chan. Just promise you'll think about it?"

"Yeah... Okay." Maka sighed reluctantly.

"Good! So Kim, what did you and Ox do after that?"

With that question, the grimace returned to Kim's face. "He took me out for a crappy McDonald's dinner and brought me back here... That broke dork..." Kim closed her computer and climbed out of bed; slipping on her slippers as she headed towards the door.

"Where you headed now?" Tsubaki asked pressing the play button on her dvd player.

"Going down to Soul's room. He just got back tonight, and he's had my text book for two weeks. I'm tired of using Ox's copy so I'm gonna try to get mine back from him... again... Third time's the charm, right?"

"Well, good luck Kim-chan!"

For some reason, even after Kim left, that name stuck with her. Soul. It sounded so strange to her. His parent must've been very...unique.

"Soul, huh? That's an unusual name." Maka commented as she watched Janet Weiss get chased up the stairs by a sweet transvestite.

"Hmm. Well Soul-kun is an unusual guy. But if you think that's weird, his roommate's name is Black Star... and he's also really cute!" Maka giggled. Of course, that would be the first thing her friend would notice about someone.

"You would, Tsubaki."

AN: Okay, I sorry that happened! Don't worry, that's all the action Hiro is ever going to get to see. Please keep an eye out for the next installment!


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Thank you all for the positive feedback! I really appreciate it and I hope this next chapter doesn't diddapoint! Thank you Goatsie, Bit, and GW for all the edits and support. Especially Goatsy. I don't own Soul Eater~

It wasn't until the next morning that Maka appreciated the gravity of what had happened. Just what had she been thinking? Maka wasn't the kind of girl to casually... well, while she couldn't call what happened 'making out', she certainly wasn't the type to get her face sucked on by random guys. So, what the hell happened? What would her mother think if she found out? Did this act of self disrespect put her on the same level as those whores her detestable father would fraternize with? Her neglected instincts were screaming at her now. Her sense of adventure destroyed was with the new day and replaced with the resolve that from then on, Maka would be having fun her way, and her way ONLY.

Since Maka awoke well before Tsubaki, she decided she'd take a shower while she waited for her friend to stir. Upon returning however, Tsubaki was still sound asleep under the covers, so Maka decided to take a little walk around campus.

As she exited the doors of Eibon Hall, Maka was taken aback. To say the sight before her was breathtaking would've been an understatement. Shibusen seemed much more like a palace than it did a University. The entire structure consisted of black concrete towers, topped with red metal conical spires and adorned with a decorative skull motif where three giant skull created a barbaric entry way for the castle. This place had baileys, turrets, keeps and even a walking gallery. All Shibusen was missing was a moat and a drawbridge. The university looked like it belonged to a theme park. It was grand, corny and most of all, glorious.

After exploring the grounds for a bit, Maka took a seat on a bench near the front gates of the school. Even though it was late morning, most of the on-campus residents didn't seem to be awake yet. And since the university only provided twin size beds, Maka had slept on the floor that night. Her back hurt and she didn't feel particularly rested. Needless to say, she wasn't looking forward to doing the same thing for the next two nights. She relaxed there for a while longer before she headed back to the room. She was happy to see that while she been out, Tsubaki had woken up and gotten ready.

"So, what's on the agenda today?" Maka asked with Tsubaki taking a moment to ponder the possibilities.

"How about... We go out and get breakfast? After that I can show you around town, and afterwards we can come back here and relax until dinner?"

"Sounds good to me."

Maka had decided to tell Tsubaki about her change in nerve over breakfast. She hoped Tsubaki would understand, and wouldn't try to force Maka into any situations she'd be uncomfortable with. After leaving the university, they walked down the street to an establishment called Chupacabra's Coffee Shop and Bistro. Seeing that it was noon by the time they arrived, the pair decided on turkey sandwiches instead of breakfast items, and two iced lattes. The two took a seat on the patio and ate in silence for a short while until Maka decided to speak up.

"Tsubaki, about last night..."

"Maka-chan, I'm sorry about Hiro." Tsubaki interrupted, Maka blinking in confusion.

"Wait, what?"

"I'm sorry I set all of that up. I had a feeling that you weren't ready for any of that. After you fell asleep, Kim was telling me about what kind of guy Hiro actually is. It turns out he really gets around."

Somehow Maka couldn't find it within herself to be surprised.

"So he's a player."

"I feel terrible about everything Maka-chan. I just wanted you to give romance a chance, because I think it could really make you happy. Just, not with Hiro. Maka-chan you deserve..."

"So much better. I know" Maka finished for her. This conversation was going to be easier than she thought.

"Tsubaki, I'm perfectly happy the way I am and the way things are. I'm not looking for romance or a boyfriend. If you don't mind, I'd like to stick to having fun in ways I'm comfortable with."

"Like I said before, you shouldn't force yourself to do anything. But don't let this one experience dampen your entire outlook on love, there are a lot of great guys out there Maka. Not all guys are like Hiro or your dad." Maka cringed when Tsubaki brought up her father; he was a sore subject and she didn't want to even think about him.

"Look, I don't need a man to make me happy. And my outlook has been the same since before I arrived here, Tsubaki. I know you're trying to help, but could you please just let it go?"

"...Fine. Just do what ever you want. I can't force you to do anything you don't want to do."

" Right. As long as we're clear on that."

After lunch, the girls toured around town a bit, visiting various shops and stands stocked with festive Halloween supplies. Maka couldn't help but be delighted with how festive the town was about this Holiday. She supposed it made sense; the town being called Death City and all, but still thought it was sweet. Even though they were having fun, the desert heat was terrible. The two were on their way back to campus when Tsubaki decided break the news to Maka about something tragic.

"What do you mean you don't have air conditioning in your room?"

"It wasn't in the school budget to put an AC unit in every room. Don't worry Maka-chan, the lounge has AC, and it gets better Wifi signal, so I'll get my computer and we'll chill there."

"Yeah. Chill. Literally."

After what seemed like forever, the two finally made it back to the dorm. Once inside, Maka went down stairs to go directly to the Lounge while Tsubaki went upstairs to retrieve her lap top. The Lounge was a spacious room with concrete floors, sofas and a T.V. that was currently showing an advertisement for Halloween Candy. The room was surrounded by doors to what Maka supposed to be other dorm rooms. Maka defeatedly collapsed on a couch with a sigh. Laying down felt so good after being in that heat for so freakin long.

"Well, hello again." Maka looked up to see the white haired boy from the train sitting on the couch across from her holding a remote. She wondered how she missed him on the way in. "Oh, hey. Fancy seeing you here." Maka sat up as the white haired boy smiled. She was somewhat alarmed to see how sharp his teeth were...

"I feel like I should be saying that to you, since I live here and all."

"Well.. yeah, I guess. Small world huh? The friend I'm staying with lives here too."

"No kidding? In that case, if we're gonna keep running into each other like this, we should probably learn each other's name. Unless you want me to call you train girl or something."

She took a moment to consider letting him do just that and laughed; He'd call her train girl and she'd call him that white haired guy. Yep, that'd be fine.

"I'm Maka." She said deciding against the proposed pet names.

"Maka... sounds Japanese."

"Yeah, I'm half Japanese on my mother's side. So what's your name?"

Before he could answer, Tsubaki emerged from the stairway computer in hand.

"Oh hello there, Soul-kun." Ohhhhhh, so that was Soul. Tsubaki was right, the unusual name did suit him.

"Hey, Tsubaki. Is Maka staying with you and Kim? Small world indeed."

"Soul and I sat next to each other on the train to here." She added, filling Tsubaki in.

"Is that so? Well, how bout that." She sat down next to Soul and opened up her computer. It made chiming sounds as it booted up.

"So, have you been staying out of trouble so far? Done anything exciting yet?" His question derailed her thoughts back to the happenings of the night before. She cringed inwardly as she put on a fake smile.

"Eh... I guess you can say that. We haven't been out partying yet, but I suppose it's been... Interesting." Soul raised an eyebrow, not buying her facade. Maka was quite embarrassed about what happened with Hiro. She didn't want her new acquaintance to think she was a sleaze or something.

"Interesting huh? That doesn't sound too promising." Maka sighed, apparently she being way too obvious.

"I uh... just been trying new things that I'm not used to." Maka described vaguely. "Certain things you should only do when you feel like you're ready." Maybe this guy was a mind reader. Finally, someone here saw things her way... But that didn't mean she wanted to continue to talk about it and as if sensing her apprehension on the matter, Soul changed the subject.

"So what do you think of Shibusen? Have you been around the city yet?"

"This place is gorgeous! All of the scenery, architecture and, the little shops. There's Halloween spirit everywhere! This place is so cute!" Maka couldn't keep herself from gushing. She was really quite fond of this city despite the less than enjoyable experiences. She could perhaps even see herself attending this university.

"You like scenery, huh? Well, I guess that explains why you stole my window seat." She stared at him blushing madly, looking incredibly flustered... and responsible. Soul smirked, expecting her explanation to be quite entertaining. "Oh... Haha.. did I take your seat? I, uh, didn't mean to, I just uh... um.." Her stammering was silenced by the sound of Soul's laughing. Well, at least he didn't appear to be holding a grudge as he leaned over to try to suppress the giggles.

"Your face is so red! You look so guilty! Don't ever take up a life of crime kay? You'd probably suck at it." He looked up at her with a wide grin exposing those dangerous looking teeth again. Cocky bastard. It was then Maka stood up and lunged forward delivering an open handed Maka-chop to the white-haired cranium since she didn't have a book nearby.

"Aaah fuck, what the hell's your problem, tinytits? I was just making a joke! Why do you have to be so fuckin violent?"

"Don't call me that, you asshole!"

"Your chest isn't big enough to get away with a crime either!" She struck him again this time with a little more gusto. "Piss off! You don't know anything!" She spat, adding insult to injury. Even through the throbbing of his head, the harshness in her tone caught Soul's attention. She sounded really hurt. Had what he said really gotten to her that much?

"What, you're seriously that upset about the tiny tits comment? Why do you care about what people think of your body so much?" He asked still rubbing the place of impact on his head. She sat back in her original spot and crossed her arms in a very pouty-like manner.

"Hmph. I don't. It's just... How would you feel if people made fun of your demon face on a regular basis?" He raised his eyebrows at her; giving Maka a very 'you wanna bet?' expression.

"They do. They have my whole life. But guess what? It doesn't bother me because I am cool and I don't give a shit." Maka's temper dissipated a little bit after that, but not enough to attempt to make a childish blow at his self esteem. "Why's your face so demon like anyway?"

He just snickered.

"I don't know. I'm just a genetic oddity, I suppose. My brother's the same way." It didn't phase him... Damnit. Okay, one more try.

"I bet your face scares away all the girls." His expression turned soft as Soul gazed upon her with bedroom eyes.

"Well, do I scare you?" She was beet red again. The look he gave her was sending chills up her spine. It was strange, his gaze didn't make her feel uncomfortable at all; just embarrassed.

" Uhh... no." After that his gaze lifted and he smiled.

"Oh, well that's good. Wouldn't want you running off cuz you're pretty cool. Even if you are violent."

The two kept talking, pretty much forgetting Tsubaki was in the room. They discussed interests and past experiences. Soul was 18 years old and also a first semester freshman along with Tsubaki. He was a music major, with a minor in communications, but that was be subject to change if his parents let him change his major. His older brother Wes, was apparently also a music major who attended Juilliard because "he is a savant violinist, and such a pretentious asshole", according to Soul. He resents the fact that his family has always compared him to his older brother, and wished he would just be acknowledged as a separate person.

"So, what do you play?" Maka asked in innocent curiousness.

"Piano."

"Oh, cool. You should play for me sometime." He sighed and scratched his head, not seeming too enthusiastic about her request.

"I'm uhh... Not that good... The stuff I like to play... you wouldn't get it." He said dismissively. But Maka pressed on.

"Aw, you don't know that. I bet it's amazing! What's your favorite kind of music anyway?"

"I really like jazz." She scrunched her nose at this. Jazz was the one of the types of music she didn't really care for. It was such a classic genre too; she wouldn't expect someone of this generation to be interested in it.

"I don't really understand jazz music." She admitted meekly.

"Well if you don't get jazz music, you definitely wouldn't understand my piano compositions."

"Hey! You still don't know that!"

They continued to talk a while more. Soul felt as if there was just _something_ about Maka that he really admired. She was a very strong and independent person. Even in the short time of talking with her, he could tell how brilliant she was. She wasn't like a normal girl her age. She thought for herself and she didn't take anyones bullshit. The one downside was her pride: Maka had enough pride to choke a horse, but it wasn't as if Soul didn't have a large ego himself. If anything, it made her more relatable. Yes, Soul decided he rather liked this girl, with her ashy blonde hair and muted green eyes. They both mutually felt it was safe to call each other friends at this point. They continued to enjoy each others company until an unexpected visitor dropped by. It was Hiro. Maka tried to hide her discomfort in his presence and plastered on a greeting smile. But Soul, being as perceptive as he is, could see past her fake expression whereas the blonde haired boy could not.

"Heeey, Maka." He smiled back, sitting uncomfortably close to Maka on the couch; thighs touching. Soul could visibly see her tense up when he put his hand on her knee.

"Eh.. Hey Hiro." She scooted away from him, and as soon as Tsubaki had noticed the situation, she sprung into action.

"Oh Hiro-kun, so nice to see you again! Come and see this Tumblr post I found." Hiro got up and made his way over to Tsubaki while Soul gave her a questioning look. In response Maka waved her hands in a 'don't worry about it' gester.

"I'm, uh, gonna go get my book from your room Tsubaki." She explained getting up from her place. Hiro looked up from the screen.

"I'll go with you."

"No, its okay I can go by myself, thanks"

"Here, Maka-chan." Tsubaki said throwing her keys to Maka. "Oh and Hiro-kun, take a look at this."

"I'ma go shower." Soul said approaching one of the dorm room doors as Maka made her narrow escape. She ran up the three flights of concrete stairs and hurried down the hall towards Tsubaki's room where she unlocked and relocked the door behind her. Once inside, she collapsed on Tsubaki's bed. Why did that creep have to come and spoil everything? She was really starting to warm up to this Soul guy. Sure, he was snarky and arrogant, but he was also genuine and kind. Maka didn't really have any standards for beauty but she thought Soul was very an interesting looking person to look at. He had mentioned to her earlier how many people were intimidated by his appearance, but Soul didn't frightened Maka in the slightest. So, she figured; he was snarky, genuine, kind and wasn't bad to look at. But Maka figured she'd probably be out of his league. Wait...why was she even thinking about being in his league in the first place? They were just friends so far and nothing more. Besides, Maka's history ensured that they would stay friends for a long time.

Maka wished that Hiro guy could take a hint; that aryan looking bastard really made her uncomfortable. She was pretty sure he only wanted to get in her pants, and that did not sit well with her at all. She decided that if subtle hints didn't clue him in, Maka would have to tell him upfront that it wasn't going to happen.

She searched through her bag, pulling out the literature she had been reading on the train, a book called Stradivarius. Maka had purchased the bestseller at the station Barnes and Noble, and though it wasn't a particularly thick work, it did make an exceptional hardcover. Maka loved hardcovers, they were her weapon of choice. Armed with her light reading, she worked up the courage to go back downstairs and set the record straight. But that feeling was deserted as soon as she tried to leave. Standing there, when she opened the door, was Hiro with a shit-eating grin on his face, he nearly gave her a heart attack out of surprise.

"EEEP! Oh my god, Hiro!" Maka yelped. Hiro's gaze became somewhat mockingly sympathetic. "Oh sorry, Maka, I didn't mean to frighten you."

"It's fine." The door clicked behind her as she shoved past him. He smelt of diesel cologne and black n' milds... Gross.

"I thought I said you didn't need to follow me up here." She attempted to make it to the stairwell when Hiro's arm snaked around her shoulder. She froze.

"Wait a second there Maka, why don't we hang out in Tsubaki's room for a while." His hand ran down her side and over her hip. "Just us? Could be really fun." He blew into her ear in an attempt to be... sexy? Maka's skin was crawling, this was disgusting, this had to stop and now. Maka pulled Stradivarius from under her arm and sent it crashing down to collide with Hiro's skull with as much force as she could muster. The years of Martial Arts had taught her well. He laid there in a messy heap on the carpet, as Maka took care to make sure the binding on her book wasn't damaged.

"What the fuck's your problem?" He cried, clutching his aching head between his hands. "I wasn't implying we should do anything, god damn it, I'd thought we'd watch a fucking movie or something."

Maka stepped over his crumpled mass to finally get to the stairs. At the top, she turned towards him.

"Well, at least you're aware of my feelings towards you now. I'd appreciate it if you'd just leave me alone." She left him there, not even looking back as she made her way down the steps.

AN: Horray we're moving along! Next chapter promises to be fluffy. Coming soon!


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Did I mention that I don't own Soul Eater? Cuz I don't. I just like writing smut about it. Anyways, I noticed that throughout chapters 1 and 2 there were occasional phrases that were missing, that I had in fact typed. Sorry guys, I think it's because I type this fic in a gdoc, and sometimes all the words don't transfer through. I'm also sorry that all my authors notes have typos in them. Thank you all so much for following this story to the third chapter and thank you for all the lovely reviews. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint~

When Maka returned to the basement lounge, there was a boy getting comfy next to Tsubaki on the couch. He had strangely blue spiked hair that had managed to mold into a star-like shape. He wore an orange and blue sleeveless jersey with tan cargos and classic black high-top Chucks. They were laughing about something on Tsubaki's computer when they noticed that Maka had returned. As usual, Tsubaki greeted her with a warm smile.

"Oh hey, Maka-chan! I'd like you to meet Black*Star. Black*Star, this is Maka-chan."

"Hey, there! It's a pleasure to make your...Woah...are you like 12 or something?" Maka's eyebrow twitched; the nerve of this guy with his stupid looking hair and his bizarre name to call her 12. She was about to take a jab back at his self esteem when he stood up. Smirking, Maka knew just what to say to him.

"Are you like 4' 9" or something?" He smirked a little, accepting her challenge. Sure, it was an exaggeration, but this guy couldn't have been taller than 5' 7".

"No, but that's almost the length of my dick." Oh, and he was cocky too. Maka really didn't like this guy. His ego was palatable and while Maka had a lot of pride, she didn't go around parading in front of people she just met, not like this guy did. Maka let it go though, figuring she had assaulted enough people in the last hour. So, she muttered something about being "17, for christ sake" and settled in to her original spot on the couch to read her book.

While getting engrossed in her story, she dimly registered the smell of steam coming from the bathroom and the sound of running water being shut off. Maka couldn't remember how much time had passed before she heard angry footsteps coming down the stairs. Maka looked up from her book to see a very upset looking Hiro pass the group without even acknowledging them with a glance and storm into the bathroom. She could hear him ranting very angrily at someone, though she couldn't make out the words. Then she heard the sounds of a flushing toilet and a fawcett going off. Promptly, she saw the heated blonde exit the bathroom and shortly after, Hiro had left the building. It wasn't long after, that Soul emerged from the shower; he looked confused... wearing nothing but a pair of blue basketball shorts and a towel around his neck.

Soul had such an athletic physique. Her eyes wandered from his broad shoulders to his sculpted arms, and back up his torso from his toned abs to his smooth chest. There was only one obvious imperfection on his otherwise perfect body; an angry gash-like scar that ran from his right shoulder, all the way down to his left hip bone. Though, if you asked Maka, the damaged tissue added his appeal in a strange way. God, what was wrong with her? It suddenly felt as if the room was ten degrees hotter. Her palms were starting to get sweaty and her entire body felt hot, especially between her legs. Maka shifted uncomfortably while she wondered what it would be like to run her hands down his torso...or maybe her tongue down his inguinal crease. These new thoughts and feelings were foreign to her; she hadn't known what it felt like to truly lust after someone until now, and she didn't know how to deal with it.

"You're staring." Maka squeaked out of embarrassment of being caught, and Soul cracked up.

"I wasn't staring, I don't know what you're... Shut up!" Maka was flustered, but her cheeks were already rosy from being so hot and bothered. She pouted while she waited for his laughter to subside.

"Like what you see?" He asked as his chuckles died down. "Take a picture next time, it'll last longer."

She muttered something about him being a snarky bastard under her breath as Soul settled in for a seat next to her on the couch. Would it kill the guy to put on a shirt? Apparently so, as he slid his towel off from over his shoulder, draping it over the arm of the sofa. Maka hoped that he wouldn't be able to notice her red face and flustered behaviour. Alas, Soul not only picked up on her embarrassment at getting caught but also her attraction to at least his body.

Maka was annoyed; she knew he was doing this on purpose by the way he leaned back with his arms crossed behind his head and stretched, giving her a perfect view of his ripped body. She allowed herself only a brief moment to watch his chest rise and fall with his breathing when Maka set her book down on the coffee table in front of her and gave him a look that said 'what the fuck do you want?'.

"What'd you do to Hiro to make him so mad? Chop him in the head or something?"

"I, uh... used a book this time, actually." She admitted somewhat bashfully. Soul smiled a toothy grin in approval. Maka wondered what it would feel like to have those teeth against her skin... she shoved that thought and the rest of her other perverted thoughts in a dark corner in the back of her mind where they couldn't bother her for now.

"What a fuckin' pansy, cryin' over a mild head injury."

"You're not gonna give me a speech about how I shouldn't use violence to solve my problems, are you?" It was usually Tsubaki's job to give her that spiel, but she and that Black*Star guy were too wrapped up in themselves to even notice what had recently transpired. Somehow though, Soul didn't seem like the diplomat type. He simply shrugged at her question.

"Hiro's a real prick, he probably deserved it. That guy was invading your personal space before and I was wondering when you were gonna stand up for yourself." Maka cringed at the thought of Soul finding out the full story between them; there wasn't really anything stopping Hiro from spilling the beans now, though. Just thinking about what Hiro could do troubled Maka.

"Ah.. You noticed that, huh?"

"Kinda hard to miss, you're really easy to read."

"What? No I'm not!"

"Mmm...Yeah, you are." She threw her book at him, which Soul just took in stride. He picked the book up and flipped through it.

"Hey, thanks for the book. It looks interesting."

"Wait, no that's mine!"

"Nahh..." he said, tucking it behind his back. "I think I'll keep it."

"But I haven't finished it yet!" Maka lurched forward, reaching behind him in an attempt to retrieve her novel.

"Oh man, that's too bad." After he watched her struggle with him for a while, Soul arched an eyebrow and cleared his throat. "Ahem, can I help you?"

She looked up, seeing her face inches from from Soul's and that she was basically laying on top of him. Maka froze when she registered what kind of situation she just put herself in, choking on an explanation that refused to rise from her throat.

"Woah guys, get a room..." Black*Star requested, peeking over Tsubaki's laptop screen. And that's when Maka spazzed. Fast as she could, she got off Soul and quickly crawled away until she was at the opposite end of the couch. Reaching her destination, Maka laid on her side and assumed the fetal position with her face in her hands. She hid from the world in shame while the two roommates laughed at her.

"Black*Star, you're such an asshole, I think she's in a state of shock." Soul gasped, attempting to get his breathing under control again. However, Black*Star was still going strong.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Look at her! She looks like a dead potato bug, all curled up in a ball like that!"

"Maka..." Soul breathed. "Maka, you should really sit up." She shifted somewhat but seemed resolved to stay exactly where she was.

"You guys suck...I don't wanna." she whined behind her hands. How could this possibly get any worse?

"But... I can see up your skirt." Oh, that's how. Almost dying from the mortification, Maka got up from the couch and was about to proceed to Tsubaki's room to hide out for the rest of her visit until Soul grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Wait! Aw c'mon, Maka. Don't be like that." Soul tried to reason. Black Star chimed in.

"Yeah, no reason to be embarrassed in front of this loser."

"I'm not embarrassed... I'm mortified." Maka mumbled under her breath, refusing to make eye contact with either of them.

"Okay, first of all, shut up Black*Star. Second of all, Maka, I'm sorry for embarrassing you. That was uncool." He poked her in the arm with his other hand and Maka reluctantly looked at him; her face, neck, and the top of her ears were all flushed. Soul absently wondered how far down her chest that flush went.

"You, should stay." He concluded, pulling her back to sit next to him on the couch. She kept her head down staring at her lap as Soul attempted to console her further.

"You wanna hear about all the humiliating situations Black Star has gotten me into?"

"Me? I beg your pardon, sir. You got yourself into those situations."

Soul told stories of his childhood together with Black*Star and how they got in trouble with parents, teachers, neighbors, and law enforcement. He described times at summer camp where Black*Star would steal his clothes while he was in the showers and how Soul had to walk across camp in nothing but a towel and shoes. Or the time Black*Star stole all of the hot neighbor lady's underwear and shoved them all under Soul's mattress. There was also a time where Black*Star switched Soul's backpack with that of a school druggie's. Luckily, they had worked it out before Soul got expelled. Then, there was also a time where Black*Star spray painted on the side of the school 'SOUL EVANS WAS HERE'. The only reason Soul got out of that one was because Black*Star had been a dumbass and spray painted his name too. At first Maka didn't budge, but as Soul went on, her mood improved and she was laughing right with them.

"He just couldn't resist writing his name on something." Soul teased his roommate, who seemed to take everything with stride.

"The school looked so much cooler with my name painted on it in big letters. And as for you, Soul, I was doing you a favor. I was giving you some well needed publicity for being my bro!"

"Please," Soul sighed, "You're starting to sound like Wes."

"Why do you put up with his crap?" Maka asked Soul; somewhat bewildered by his level of tolerance. Soul shrugged.

"He's my best friend and despite the outcomes, a lot of the things he does are just a misguided attempt to help me."

"The back pack?"

"He swears he got them mixed up. It happens."

"The thing that happened at camp?"

"That..." Soul pondered for a moment. "I think he was really trying to fuck up my day that time."

"That's what you get for putting bugs in my breakfast." Black*Star countered defensively.

"It was so worth it; watching you eat dead flies."

The two continued to go back and forth about who deserved what. She watched the two guys bicker it out until her eyes wandered back down to the gash that divided Soul's torso. It was so deep and so severe that Maka wondered what kind of wound caused that kind of scar. People don't usually survive injuries like that. As soon as they settled down, Maka gave into her morbid curiosity.

"Soul, how'd you get that scar?"

"Oh, this?" He touched his hand to his chest. "It was my brush with death; I got it when I wrecked my bike."

"You got that from a bicycle accident?" He gave her a questioning look, as if to ask Maka if she was being serious.

"No, a motorcycle." Soul corrected. Of course Soul rode motorcycles. He probably figured he was too cool for conventional motor vehicles. "Two winters ago, I was riding down the freeway, coming back from the music store and I was going around a bend when a black cat jumped into the middle of the road. I swerved out of the way, but I lost control and skidded off the road where I was projected off my bike and I got sliced from nearly being impaled on a broken guard rail."

"Oh, my god." Shrugging, Soul tried to downplay the seriousness of the incident.

"I don't really remember much after that. I just remember that the damn cat stayed with me the entire time."

"Maybe it felt bad."

"I think she did. I was lucky that Black Star was on his way to my place at the time, and saw the bike on the side of the road. Probably wouldn't be here if he hadn't."

"I'm glad you're okay. Just goes to show how dangerous motorcycles are. You're better off sticking to cars."

"Nah, I just stuck with my bike." Maka was taken aback as Soul shrugged again.

"You mean you still ride that thing?! Are you insane!?"

"No, I just love to ride. It's an amazing rush. Plus, I got a free cat out of the accident."

"You kept the cat?"

"Course I did. I almost died trying to not kill her. Why wouldn't I keep her?" Maka stared at him perplexed. There was no way Soul was being serious. She needed confirmation, so she turned back to Black*Star, who had resumed flirting with Tsubaki.

"Black*Star, is he being for real?"

"About what? Blair? Yeah, when medics arrived, he told me to bring the cat over to his house. Been mooching there ever since. Nice cat, I guess. Real attention whore, though." Well, that was rich, coming from the egomaniac with blue hair. She looked back to Soul, who smirked at her tiredly.

"I like her, she sleeps at the end of my bed and keeps my feet warm at night." He stifled a yawn. "Speaking of sleep, I'm fucking exhausted."

He slumped over, giving Maka a perfect view of his back. The indents of his sturdy shoulder blades gave off to the tightly wound muscles of his dorsi. Her eyes followed the contours of his spinal column down to the small of his back and further to his... Wow. Even Maka, who didn't have any concept of human attraction whatsoever, could recognize that Soul had an amazing ass. She wanted to find out how firm it was. She wondered if his skin felt as smooth as it looked.

Maka could feel herself getting warm again. She couldn't recall ever wanting to touch someone as much as she wanted to touch Soul in the brief time they've spent together. Maka dimly registered her stolen book lying from where Soul had hidden it earlier. She removed the book and set it in front of her on the coffee table where it belonged, using it as a distraction to get her mind back on track. Soul stretched and leaned back again. Maka couldn't stop herself from watching as the muscles in his chest torso constricted and relaxed. He sighed defeatedly with sleep in eyes.

"Meh, I wanna lay down."

"Aw, you're gonna leave?" Maka did her best to disguise the disappointment in her voice.

"I don't want to, but those two losers over there are hogging the other couch. There's nowhere for me to lay down out here."

"...You can lay down here... with me." She offered, coyly. Maka didn't want him to leave; she really enjoyed his company. The couch wasn't big enough to have someone lay down without touching the other person sitting on the end, but that wasn't a big deal, right? At most his feet or his legs would probably be resting up against her thighs while he layed back in the opposite direction, surely Maka could handle that without a heart palpitation. She just didn't understand why she felt so nervous.

"Really?" He asked, seeming surprised. She nodded.

"Sure...Why not?"

"Well, if you insist." Maka wasn't prepared when Soul laid down facing the opposite way that was expecting; his head and shoulders were resting in her lap as he snuggled into place. She yelped in surprise, throwing her hands in the air. He looked up at her questioningly.

"What? You're the one who offered."

"...Y..Yeah, but this isn't what I had in mind." Oh god, Soul was so close and he smelled amazing.

"Ah, I see, but this is okay too, right?" He looked up at her with an adorable puppy dog expression. His eyes...They looked so red in this light, like a brilliant shade of crimson. "You're comfy, I really don't want to get up."

"...I guess." She couldn't push him away even if she wanted to, his presence was intoxicating.

"Relax then, will 'ya?" She was visibly tense, her hands were still in mid-air. She moved them around awkwardly, placing them here and there and anywhere but on him. It was rather cute, how unsure Maka was and the lengths she went to avoid touching him. Soul suspected it wasn't because she was uncomfortable with the idea, but because she wasn't sure he was. She needed to stop thinking so much, just watching her do so was making his head hurt.

"You're silly." Soul sighed as he caught her left hand mid-motion and held it in his on his chest. He absently rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand. "I'm not made of lava, you know."

He might as well have been. Her wrist rested against a piece of his jagged scar, and it burned...In addictive way. Even so, Maka couldn't help but ease up as they sat there in comfortable silence. He smiled when her breathing returned to normal and her muscles relaxed. That blush on her face was persistent though, not that he minded.

Soul's bangs were in his eyes and he attempted to blow them away, to no avail. It was then, that Maka decided to do something bold. Without allowing time to change her mind, she used her right hand to brush the hair out of his face. Surprisingly, his white hair was soft and natural and Maka couldn't help but continue running her fingers through it. Soul hummed in contentment as he closed his eyes with a soft smile. He reminded her of a puppy getting his tummy rubbed.

"Mmm, I'm gonna fall asleep if you keep doing that." She giggled, scratching him a little behind the ear.

"You might as well, since you're using me as a pillow." His eyes parted open tiredly as he stared off thoughtfully for a while. Slowly, he moved the hand that held hers up to his chin, hesitating before Soul closed his eyes again and pressed his lips to one of her knuckles. It only lasted a moment before he pulled away and looked back up at her shyly. She blinked, she didn't really know what to do. Though it was disguised to be platonic, that kiss on the hand was the most affectionate gesture that someone of the opposite sex had ever sincerely showed her. She wanted to reciprocate, but she had to figure out how.

So, Maka did the first thing she could think of, acting quickly again so she wouldn't have time to think about the consequences. After all, if she made a fool of herself up here, it's not like Maka had to see any of these people again if she didn't want to. She bent down to plant a swift peck of her lips to his forehead. It was sudden and slightly awkward, but it was better than any reaction Soul had anticipated. They smiled at each other, both marveling at their unspoken mutual feelings, completely unaware of their audience. Tsubaki had seen everything, and although she didn't show it, she was extremely excited at this turn of events.

"Hey guys," Tsubaki spoke up after what seemed like forever, "I just got a text from Kid. He and the Thompsons are heading to the cafe now for dinner. Wanna join them?"

"Sure, I can eat." Soul said, sitting up with Maka instantly missing his presence. "Just let me get a shirt."

"I thought you were tired." Maka had thought he had called him out. He just scoffed.

"My nickname in high school was Eater. I am never too tired for food."

As he walked to one of the doors of what was presumably his room, Tsubaki closed her computer and quickly made her way over to Maka to begin the interrogation.

.AN: According to my editor, my idea of fluff is a bunch of unfulfilled sexual tension. At least Maka and Soul are getting somewhere right? Did I mention this story will have smut? Cuz it will... eventually... Please review, it makes me happy! You guys are so nice~


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** Wow guys, I'm sorry this update took so long. I just got back from Disney World and progress was kinda slow on vacation. But this is the longest update yet! They just keep getting longer... Oh and look at all of the follows I got! Thank you all so much for keeping up with this story I really appreciate it~

"So, do you really like him?" Tsubaki prodded Maka as they made their way down the hill and onto the stone path that led to the university's cafeteria. The amazon woman was relentless. From the time before they left the building and for the entire walk, Tsubaki bombarded the poor blonde with deep emotional questions that Maka honestly didn't have a clear answer for. Maka repeatedly told Tsubaki this, but she continued to pry, thinking that Maka was keeping something from her. That wasn't the case, but Maka was forced to repeat the same answer she'd given to Tsubaki for what felt like the hundredth time already .

"Tsubaki, Soul is very nice and I enjoy his company, but I can't say I have feelings for him at this point. I only learned his name three hours ago, for crying out loud!"

"Sure, you can. What's your heart telling you?" Maka sighed and rolled her eyes, not wanting to humor Tsubaki's cheesy, romantic 'follow-your-heart' bullshit. Maka didn't know what her heart was telling her. She knew exactly what her body was telling her and it was screaming at her to jump Soul's bones. But Maka refused to act on those unusual inward commands, not wanting to be a slave to her hormones for some meaningless weekend fling. Maka was much too responsible for something like that.

"I don't know, Tsubaki! God, I don't know why you're so obsessed with this!" She raised her voice at her. Maka's patience was wearing thin. Realizing she was louder than she intended, she looked to the two boys who trailed behind them. Black*Star and Soul had been carrying on their own separate conversation for a while now. Well, a mostly one sided conversation where Black*Star did all the talking with Soul nodding and replying with one-word answers. Soul had changed into dark wash jeans with a black t-shirt. Over that, he wore a blue plaid flannel jacket under this thick dark leather one. It was probably his riding jacket, the one he wore while riding that bike of his. Glancing over at Maka, Soul met her gaze with a look of sympathy. She wondered if he was getting a spiel similar to hers.

"Well, do you think he's attractive at least?" Her attention was yanked back to Tsubaki. Maka sputtered at her question and Tsubaki gave her a knowing smirk.

"Ah ha! You do, don't you!" Maka had to act quickly putting her hand over Tsubaki's mouth and shushing her so the guys wouldn't overhear them.

"Tsubaki! Don't be so loud..." Maka whispered. "And, so what if I do? It doesn't mean anything, for all I know Soul's just another player." She lowered her hand to allow her friend to speak. It didn't matter Soul never gave Maka a reason to doubt his intentions. He never gave her a reason to trust him, either. All she knew about him were the things Soul told her. Maka was very attracted to Soul, but she also didn't want to get hurt.

"Come on, Maka-chan. That's not fair. You can't just assume things like that."

"I'm not assuming; I'm just not ruling out the possibility." Tsubaki shook her head, Maka simply shrugged in return.

"But, one has to be charismatic to be a ladies man. I'm actually surprised Soul-kun is so friendly towards you. He's not really anti-social but he's not that much of a people person either. Black*Star is surprised too, he says he's never seen Soul-kun being so sweet on a girl before."

"I wonder why that is..."

"Black*Star says Soul-kun's very picky when it comes to things like that. Something about unrealistic expectations." Maka did her best to not let her flattery show. She simply nodded with a small smile and Tsubaki squealed, excited for her friend.

The area they were currently in, the lower quad, was the most decked-out for halloween than anywhere else on campus. Jack-'o-lanterns rested at the bottom of every tree and all the lampposts were wrapped with pumpkin lights. Artificial ghosts swayed from branches and cotton cobwebs attached to every adherable surface. Maka had been told Shibusen paid special attention to this holiday mainly because, the university hosted the annual Deaths City All Hallows Eve Festival. This holiday was also of great importance to the entire university for it was the one time of year, the headmaster of the college came out for a public appearance to address the student body. Apparently, this head master was quite eccentric; he always wore a Grim Reaper-type outfit when attending these events; no one knew what the headmaster looked like.

It all seemed a bit sketchy to Maka, but the festival sounded like fun and she was excited about attending, even if she didn't have a costume. According to Tsubaki, she already had something for Maka to wear, however, she was somewhat frightened of what Tsubaki had planned. If Tsubaki puts Maka in a sexy maid outfit, Stradivarius would claim its second victim. She was so lost in her reverie, she didn't notice Soul, who had come up to walk with her. Maka snapped out of it when he, once again, took her hand in his.

"Oh! Soul..."

"Sup?" Maka smiled and adjusted her hand so their fingers would lace together. Hand-holding seemed kind of childish, but it was nice.

"I'm fine, how are you?"

"I'm alright." he smiled back. "You seemed awfully deep in thought, is something wrong?"

She sighed, feeling somewhat silly.

"I'm just wondering what Tsubaki was planning on dressing me up as for Halloween..."

"You left it up to her? That's trusting."

"Yes, well... She said that she had something for me to wear and I didn't want to spend money on a costume, anyway. That's money I could spend on books." She defended half-heartedly. He just shook his head in mock disapproval.

"I feel like modesty and public decency should come before books, personally. Maybe that's just because I'm not a bookworm like you." She hit him on the arm, huffing at his teasing. He just laughed.

"Seriously though Maka, what if she dresses you up like a sexy maid or something?" Wow, Soul really hit the nail on the head there.

"Ugh. That's, like, my worst fear. Bet you wouldn't mind seeing that, though." Soul took a moment to answer when he smirked and shot her an easy smile.

"I'd like to see you no matter what you're wearing." Maka blushed at his blatant flirting as Soul went on.

"But if you did, maybe you could clean my room." She hit him again, but didn't let go of his hand for the rest of the walk. They arrived at the cafeteria, a little after dusk. When they entered the wide brick building, Maka was confronted with the aromas of various foods and the sounds of chatter. They waited in line for the register, and upon reaching the front Maka attempted to fish her wallet out of her pocket when Soul stopped her.

"It's cool, Maka." Soul looked to the cashier and handed her his student ID. "One student and one guest, please." He let Maka know afterward that his meal plan came with free guest passes. Maka thought it was sweet that Soul used one for her. After Tsubaki let them know where they were sitting, the pairs went their separate ways to find food that appealed to them. The cafeteria was a buffet, where students could pick and choose what they wanted from the various stands.

Maka went to the side where they laid out the entrees; mostly everything looked watery, dried out, or burnt. It wasn't much better than the cafeteria food at her own high school, but she supposed that one couldn't expect much from institutional food. Maka was about to give up and grab some french fries when a menu item caught her eye. They were serving fried plantains and absolutely Maka loved those. They looked like they were prepared correctly, so Maka scooped some onto her plate, along with a slice of pizza from another stand and made her way to the place Tsubaki said they would sit. They had chosen a long table in the back that was completely filled up except for one chair, the one next to Soul. She recognized a few of the faces at the table apart from the ones in the party she came with.

The long haired blonde from the night before, named Liz, and Tsubaki's roommate were there, but there were a lot of people she didn't know. There was a boy with alarmingly gold eyes sitting next to Liz who was painstakingly attempting to shape a pile of salt into a perfectly straight line in front of him. His hair was strange, as it was black with three white rectangular stripes on one side. It was funny, Maka was from LA; the eccentric capital of America and yet in one day, she saw more weird looking people on this campus than she saw in a month on the streets of her city. Next to the strangely striped-haired boy sat a girl with short blond hair and blue eyes. Her pigmentations weren't as vibrant and artificial looking as Hiro's though, in fact, she looked like she could be related to Liz.

Next to her was the boy sitting next to Kim; his brunette hair was mostly short, except for two locks that were gelled into spikes on both sides of his head. She couldn't see his eye color through the poindexter glasses he wore. Maka thought he looked utterly stupid. Next to Kim was a stoic looking fellow, with his long hair tied back in a ponytail. He wore shades; Maka felt that was sort of silly, considering they were inside and it was in the evening. Across from him was a pink haired... Well, Maka wasn't really sure of that person's gender. Next to um... Them, sat a dark skinned boy who wore glasses. After him, was the empty seat next to Soul. She was approaching the table when Soul looked her way. He smiled and pulled the chair out for her. As she sat down, Tsubaki introduced Maka to all the new faces.

"Okay guys, this is Maka, my friend from high school. Maka, this is Kid, Patty, Ox, Harvar, Chrona, and Kilik." Maka greeted everyone and they did the same; all, except for Kid who was still obsessing over his task at hand. He was actually using a credit card to shape the line of salt.

"Don't mind him, he's neurotic." Soul told her in a hushed tone. He must've noticed her observing Kid's behavior questioningly.

"I heard that, Soul." Kid said, without looking up. "I'm not neurotic; I'm just trying to get this symmetrical."

"Why does it have to be symmetrical?" Maka asked. It was then that Kid looked up to make eye contact with her.

"Because symmetry is everything" was Kid's simple reply to her queries.

Soul cupped his hand to whisper into Maka's ear.

"Just go with it, if you point out the stripes in his hair, he might start crying." Maka tried to suppress her giggles but ultimately failed. Kid gave the two one more suspicious look before resuming his task. As she calmed down, Maka began to munch on her plantains, when she noticed Soul looking at her plate.

"Ew... What is that?"

"Awesome." She replied flatly. "What, you've never had fried plantains before?"

"They look disgusting..."

"Here, try one!" He opened his mouth to object, but she took the opportunity to shove one of the plantain chips into his mouth. He reflexively chewed, and his eyes widened. He proceeded to swap her plate for his own.

"Hey, eat your own food!"

"Nah, I think I'll just eat yours. Here, you can have mine."

"I don't want your nasty-ass fish sandwich! I hate fish!" She pushed his food away and attempted to reach for hers, but Soul put his hand on her shoulder and kept her at arm's length. Just to be more of a jerk, he continued to munch on her plantains, while she watched in annoyance.

"What you don't like fish?" She raised her book in a threatening fashion.

"Somethin' wrong with you." he said and pushed her plate back to her, but not before stealing one more chip. He was about to take his food back before Maka took it and pushed it aside to keep his food away from him now. She gave him a challenging smirk, and he just chuckled lowly at her... It was kinda hot.

"Heh, you do not wanna play this game with me."

"Well, you started it. Finish it like a man!" She teased him. He reached for the plate both in front of her as well as around her, but she dodged him like a pro. She laughed in her hubris. He just sighed.

"Maka, seriously, you don't..."

"I am serious!" she cut him off.

"Fine." Before she had time to react, he pounced. Soul quickly wrapped his arms around her to keep hers pinned. He pressed his lips to her lower cheek... Oh god, he was so close to her mouth. It wouldn't matter if her arms were pinned or not, Maka was frozen. He was doing something while his lips lingered there, she couldn't be bothered to wonder what though. She was too preoccupied with the fact that SOUL WAS KISSING HER FACE.

Well, his half baked plan had worked... A little too well. He got his food back, but even after he pulled away, she still didn't move. Soul hadn't really known what he had in mind when he threatened not to play 'that game' with her.

"Uh.. Maka, you okay?" She dimly registered the sound of voices, but her mind was miles away. He didn't blame her for being shocked... Soul was shocked himself. He was very impressed with how cool he was acting. He chalked it up to the years of practice. Without them, he would have probably babbled on like an idiot. Little did he know, his face was just as rosy as Maka's, blushing together for all his friends to see.

"Maka... hello?" He took a bite of his sandwich as Maka continued to stare off into space. There was giggling coming from the female spectators at the table, and knowing glances coming from the males; all directed at Soul's little stunt of course.

"I think you broke her." Liz teased. It was when Soul snapped his fingers in front of her face that Maka finally stirred.

"Huh, what?" Soul was afraid that once she came-to, he'd fall victim to one her dreaded hardcover Maka-chops, but it didn't come. Instead, she played it off as if nothing had happened. As he continued to eat his sandwich, Maka scoffed.

"Heh, enjoy that food, because I let you have it. You know, because I'm a nice person."

"Hmmm. I'm pretty sure I got my sandwich back because you were distracted." He'd hoped he hadn't endangered his own safety with that last comment. He could've walked away from this head trauma free before he opened his big mouth. But once again,Maka brushed it off. She rolled her eyes at him and shook her head.

"You keep thinking that, Soul, if it makes you feel better." Soul sighed in relief and let his guard down, only to have the broad side of a book collide with the back of his skull moments later. He could see why Maka prefered books. It was scary how much force she could drive in one of those things. He clutched the back of his head and peeked over to see what she was so mad-pissed about. There she was, glaring down at her plate and then back at him. Oh... There were only two slices of plantains on her plate, and one was bitten into.

"Soul, what the hell! You ate all the chips!"

"Uhh. Sorry I guess..." She ate the last of the chips and got up from her chair. He couldn't help but notice that she had no reservations about eating things his mouth has been on.

"I'm getting more."

After she left, all of the eyes of his peers at the table were promptly on Soul. They were all smiling at him and it was making him uncomfortable. Black*Star had been unusually quiet during the meal, and Soul just realized it was because Tsubaki had her hand over his mouth the entire time. As soon as she removed it, it was as if she had opened a jar filled with a cacophony of obnoxious laughing and snorting sounds.

"Bahahahahahahahaha! What the hell was that? That wasn't smooth at all and you still managed to pull that off? Ha, she must be really into you or something!"

"Fuck off, Black*Star." Soul muttered under his breath, staring at the table with his head propped up by his hands. He felt someone pat his shoulder. He didn't acknowledge them because he knew they were just being mockingly sympathetic.

"I think Soul-kun did a good job." He could tell from the suffixes that it was Tsubaki. "His face gave him away, though."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your face, it's very red." He couldn't hear the sound of giggles that followed Tsubaki's comment over the sound of his own internal despair. It sounded like a toddler trying to play an out of tune piano. Great, this had to be one of the most uncool moments of his life. When he came back to reality; it was the Thompson sisters and their neurotic main squeeze who were speaking.

"Heh, since when do you flirt Soul?" Liz teased, poking him with one manicured nail in the arm. "We were beginning to think you didn't like girls."

"Yay, Soul's not asexual!" Patty chimed in, humming the wedding march.

"Yes Soul, when is the wedding?" Soul looked up to address the three stooges,noticing Kid had shaped his salt line into a symmetrical heart.

"I'm not even going to dignify any of that with a response." Soul sighed. "Remind me again why I hang out with you people?"

"Because you're a masochist!" Patty proclaimed throwing her hands into the air. It was scary how precise she could be sometimes.

"Anyway," Liz said. "Have you asked her out yet?"

"Of course I haven't. We only met a few hours ago for Christ sake!" Soul took a moment before correcting himself. "Well… Technically last night, on the train, but I'm not sure that counts."

"That's not an excuse!" Black*Star punched Soul in the arm. He just glared at him in return.

"Just take her to that Haunted house thing near the cemetery downtown. It's cheap admission, it's easy, and an excuse to hold her when she's scared." Soul just shook his head at the ridiculousness of his last proposal. Maka? Scared? Please, she was too violent to be the timid type. Speaking of which, shouldn't her violence bother him more? For whatever reason he couldn't bring himself to be deterred by it. His 'masochism' he supposed was the culprit.

"I think it's a good idea, Soul-kun. I wasn't really able to talk Maka-chan into it. Maybe you can."

"Wait, what? Don't tell me she's actually scared." Tsubaki took a moment to ponder how to answer that. Although she was very fluent, English wasn't her first language. She needed to find the right words to make sure there were no misunderstandings.

"Not scared exactly… She's hesitant about going… Maka-chan doesn't want anyone to get hurt."

"…What?"

"You'll see."

"Hey guys, what I miss?" It was then that Maka returned with a plate in each hand. She set one down in front of Soul and one in front of herself. There before him, was a plate of plantain chips.

"…Thank you. You didn't have to do that." She shrugged as she began to munch.

"Call it a precautionary measure to insure I actually get to eat. Besides, that fish looked really gross... And so did that pizza."

"Sorry, forgot to mention the food here sucks." It was then that Liz coughed in order to get the pair's attention.

"Ahem, Soul, didn't you want to ask Maka a question?"

"I uh…."

"What Soul-kun wanted to ask," Tsubaki interrupted, "Was if you wanted to go to that

Haunted House the city is putting on with us?"

"Oh, um… Who all is going?" Maka inquired. Soul ate his food and shrugged. His face was feeling warm. He prayed to every deity in existence that his blush wasn't deepening. It probably was regardless.

"You, Soul-kun, myself, Black*Star, Kid-kun, Liz-chan, and Patty-chan."

"How are we all going to fit in your car Tsubaki?"

"We're not. You and Soul-kun are going on his motorcycle."

"...What? Why can't any of you go with him?" Well, that plan backfired. He was internally facepalming himself as Tsubaki attempted to rectify the situation.

"We can't." She began. "You see, I'm going with Black*Star and Liz and Patty are going with Kid. It would be silly to mix up the groups like that, and you and Soul are going together." Maka looked nervous and Soul couldn't help but feel a little hurt by how reluctant she was to go with him. Of course he'd never admit to that; instead he maintained his facade of cool indifference.

"What's your problem? Have you even rode a bike before?" She pouted and looked away. It was weird how her stubbornness was both annoying and endearing at the same time.

"I don't need to ride one to know how dangerous it is." She huffed. Soul rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

"It's only dangerous if you're with a reckless driver, and I'm not. So, we're good."

"Yeah, as long as we don't see a cat, we'll be fine." Soul took a moment to decide whether or not to be insulted; in the end, he just laughed. Yes, that was a bit of a low blow, because that accident wasn't really his fault. Even Maka realized realized that to some extent. But he was a good sport about it because either way, he figured she'd come around.

"Nah, cats outrank humans, so you're fine." All of these simple conclusions Soul was coming up with weren't really putting Maka's fears at ease. It really wasn't the idea of riding the motorcycle that bothered her, it was the haunted house. Maka wasn't afraid of the ghost and ghoul actors that jumped out at people in attempts to scare them. Maka was afraid that when one tried to scare her, someone would end up with blunt forced trauma via hardcover book, and the idea of Maka attacking a complete stranger didn't sit well with her... People got arrested for doing things like that. Maka also had nothing against the motorcycle. In fact, she was very curious about riding one. Sure it was dangerous, but what was life without a little risk? It just seemed like a convenient excuse to not go to that Haunted House, so she defended her reason, since no one would believe the real reason she was reluctant to go.

"What if it's too windy?"

"We're in a city surrounded by buildings. Wind isn't a real issue here."

"What if I get bugs caught in my teeth?"

"Thats what breathing through your nose is for."

"What if I fall?"

"I won't let you. You done yet?" She sighed defeated. Maka was probably coming off as a real buzzkill. She regretted this especially because all of her efforts seemed to have been in vain. Now she'd be seen as the violent buzzkill who gets all of her friends arrested. Soul was frustrated with how difficult Maka was being, but he really liked her and was determined to show her a good time.

"...Fine, but if we die in a fiery crash, I'm gonna say I told you so."

"Pfft. Alright then. Ready to go?" Maka finished the last of her food and drink as did Soul. She shrugged back into her hoodie as they waved their friends goodbye after confirming to meet them at the haunted house and after that, they exited the cafeteria.

AN: Blah~ a lot of scene setting in this chapter. So I feel like not a whole bunch happened, and yet there are so many werds... I promise the next chapter will be much more eventful. Again thank you for following! I'll update as soon as I can.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Here it is, finially. Sorry it took so long I just got back to college so things are moving slow. Thank Lueur-de-L'aube who pesters me to write every day, without her this chappy would've taken me a month or more probably. Also thank you Goat, Bit, Dots, Scar, Dee, Red, Blue, Liv, annnnd everyone else who has been helping me with this. Also thankyou all my lovely followers for your support I really appreciate it!

Maka had to admit, the bike was pretty; it was orange, shiny and sleek. And its appearance made it look fast and powerful. It was very lovely. Maka noticed the way Soul looked at his motorcycle and it was a lot like the way a new parent would look at their young child. When she asked Soul if he was one of the those people who considered his bike his 'baby', he denied it claiming that "She's just a bike." He was of course lying, but he only called her his baby when there wasn't anyone around. It was uncool to fawn over his bike the way he secretly did. Maka suspected he wasn't being honest and decided to tease him a little.

"So, your bike is a she?"

"Ah..." He thought about it for a moment. "Of course it's a she; all vehicles are shes. Have you ever seen a male boat or plane or car? No, because they're all female." Maka giggled at his tangent. He was determined to keep his hidden sappiness a secret.

"Does 'she' have a name?"

"Uh... no." Her name was Charlotte, and she was a 1200 Custom Harley which was evident with her telltale V-twin engine. She had a sunburst, high-gloss paint job and duo chrome detailing which were made to Soul's specifications at the factory. Before the accident, Soul rode a shitty 90's yamaha which his father had bought for him from a used car dealership. That old bike had seen better years, the throttle had always been choppy and the breaks were even less predictable. Soul even recalled a few times sitting at stop lights when the resistance from the breaks would just randomly give, causing him to have to keep the bike steady with his feet. the balance was also off on his bike, always had this very floaty boaty feeling. He and his father both suspected some of these problems came into play when he got into his accident. Soul's father understood Soul's passion to ride; he rode motorcycles himself when he was younger. So he couldn't find it within his heart to deny Soul something that he loved, but he also wanted Soul to be safe, so that old bike had to go. Which resulted in the making of Charlotte for Soul's graduation present if Soul did well with his grades.

Soul made straight A's his last semester in high school.

Maka ran her fingers along the handle pipe when Soul unclipped something off the bar.

"I only got one of these." He said when she looked up. He was holding a riding helmet. "So you wear it." He promptly fitted it over her head before she had time to protest. Maka reeled from the difference in weight her neck now supported.

"Wait, what about you?"

"I'll be fine." he assured while mounting his bike, and fishing his keys out of his pocket. Maka still felt hesitant.

"Are you sure?"

"Uh huh. Alright, so you sit here." he patted the seat behind him and Maka mounted with caution, just now realizing that riding a motorcycle in a skirt was probably not the smartest decision she ever made.

"And you need to hold onto me." He instructed as he twisted the key in the ignition making the bike roar to life. Unsure of what to do with her hands, Maka settled for resting them on Soul's shoulders. He rolled his eyes and took her hands and wrapped them around his waist.

"Hold on tight, okay?" Maka nodded, blushing from their now excruciatingly close contact. The proximity was not lost on Soul either. Her entire body was pressed up against Soul's back; he tried hard not to think about it too much, because getting a hardon at the moment would be pretty awkward. He revved the engine and sped off into the night.

To say the ride was exhilarating was an understatement. They hadn't been on the road for very long before Maka begun to experience an adrenaline rush. Death City had plenty of sharp turns and hills, and riding down and through them was thrilling. Maka was somewhat tempted to throw her hands into the air, but she knew how unsafe that was. When they stopped at a red light, Maka had her face buried into Souls shoulder, laughing excitedly.

"Soul, this is so amazing! I'm having so much fun!"

"Heh, so am I going to be able to get you back on the bike for the trip home?" She only giggled in response and Soul took that as a yes.

It wasn't long after that that they pulled into the parking lot of the funeral home next to the cemetery where the Haunted House was being held. Maka was disappointed that they arrived and even more disappointed that the ride was over. Maka stared at the haunted house; sizing it up, and judging by all of the crying children coming out of the exit, it was probably legit. Crap. She was not going to lash out violently out of surprise. She was NOT going to lash out violently. Maka inwardly repeated this to herself as she and Soul got in line for tickets.

"You look thrilled to be here." Soul sarcastically observed. It was then Maka noticed the deep scowl she wore on her face.

"Eh heh... I don't know what you're talking about, I'm great!" She plastered on a smile, and Soul raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah... I'm not buying it. What's the matter? Scared or something?" He shot her a cocky grin when she pouted.

"I'm not scared!" She defended. "Its just... Here, can you hold onto this for me?" She pulled Stradivarius out of her pocket and held it out to him. Soul blinked and hesitantly took it. He was confused; why was she disarming herself?

"Uh... Sure, but why?"

" It's for my, and everyone elses own good." She answered cryptically. Soul wanted to press her further but they had already reached in front of the line.

"How many in your party?" The lady asked from behind the booth.

"Two." Soul answered.

"Oh, alright. A mother and daughter couple just chickened out, so you two can head straight to the front of the line. That'll be six dollars, please." Maka reached for her wallet and once again Soul stopped he pulled some money out of his pocket and handed it to the cashier.

"Oh, thank you..."

"No problem." The two made their way to the front of the line and waited for the okay to go inside. There, they were briefed about the protocol of how they were expected to behave in the haunted house by an actor in a black cloak.

"Alright everyone, it's dark in there so proceed with caution. Please don't run through the haunted house, and don't stop walking either. There are strobe lights and fog machines in there, so anyone prone to seizures or asthma attacks should enter at their own risk. Please don't touch the actors or the props; they will not hurt you. If you are too afraid to continue, just tell one of the actors and they will escort you out one of the emergency exits. Have fun, be safe. We will let you in momentarily. Happy Halloween."

"Where do you think the others are?" Maka asked Soul searching the line behind them.

"They might not even be here yet. It's whatever, we'll catch up with them later." Soul knew that that was probably not true. In all likeliness their friends probably ditched them. He didn't mind much; the date was more date-like that without them hanging around.

At that moment the doors opened and they and the rest of the group were led inside. They appeared to be in an artificial cemetery. The ground wasn't visible with thick fog from the smoke machines. Maka could taste the vapor in her mouth... Bitter. In the sky hung a moon with a sinister grin and blood pouring from its teeth. As they kept walking, figures started emerging from the mist. A reaper character wearing a feudal era skull mask and a tattered cloak. He held a scythe. The chine was large and was painted with red and black zigzag design from heel to toe. The ring looked almost as if it had an eye. The actor approached the pair looking very ominous as his cloak swayed in the artificial wind.

"Soooouuullls... I want to eat your Sooouulllls." He groaned lifting up his scythe towards them.

"Sup, dude. I like your scythe." Soul teased the actor who was obviously not making an impression on him. He wasn't making an impression on Maka either. She could stay composed when she saw the actors coming; it was when they jumped out at her that she had problems. If the whole haunted house was like this maybe she'd be okay. She found it amusing how Soul teased the pseudo reaper, and he found it satisfying when she laughed at his antics. The reaper seemed annoyed; his growl becoming more menacing. He swung down his rather beautiful scythe to come within a hairs breath of them.

"SOOOOUULLLSSS! I'M GONNA EAT YOUR SOOOOOUUUUL!"

"Eat me? Oh how flattering. Sorry mister, I'm afraid you're not my type." The actor gave up on them to terrorize the group behind them as Maka and Soul pressed on. The cemetery was filled with zombies with glowing eyes digging their way out of graves, and ghostly women with tears of blood streaming down their faces crying out for their absent lovers or children. They even had Grudge looking children with long black hair crawling out of wells and stalking them for some time. It was all very hammed up, and as Soul originally expected Maka wasn't intimidated in the slightest. But the pair started noticing a trend as they went deeper and deeper into the haunted house; that it got progressively scarier as it went on. Things were making Maka more jumpy and tempting her instincts to defend herself.

When they exited the graveyard they entered an almost dungeon like area where a witches mass was being held. All of the witches gathered around an altar hailing someone called Baba-Yaga or something. The head witch they appeared to be referring to was in the process of sacrificing a goat. The goat's fur had an odd shine to it- no. It was a sparkle. What could that even mean? They left just as the fake blood started to pour from the glittering mammal.

"Soul, why do you think that goat was sparkly?" Maka asked as they made their way down a deserted alleyway covered in forbidding graffiti. Soul took a moment to think about it.

"Well... This funeral home does serve as a recreational center for the surrounding community, and some of the churches in the area sometimes host Christmas pageants here. I wouldn't be surprised if that goat prop was left over from one of the 'baby Jesus in the manger' setups. That might be why the goat was sparkly, because it was a holy goat."

"Oh, har har. Look at you being all clever."

"I was being clever..."

"Pfft, you're a dork." She genuinely laughed after that, realizing she found his sense of humor rather endearing. In fact, she found most of his personality endearing. She was really becoming fond of him. She couldn't bring herself to be frightened about how much she was growing to like this man, even though she suspected that the should've been. It wasn't that she only appreciated him for his good looks and nice body; she honestly enjoyed spending time with him. She liked his dorky jokes, his aloof yet caring personality and the subtle gestures he only seemed to direct at her. Was she falling for him? Should she be letting herself do so? There wouldn't be any harm in that; Soul wasn't like Hiro at all. Hiro had the uncanny ability to make Maka so uncomfortable, it made her stomach churn, whereas Soul made her feel completely at ease. She was starting to feel like she could trust him, and she had nothing to lose in doing so, because she never had to come back to Death City if she didn't want to.

Things were beginning to jump out at them when they walked through these big steel gates of what they assumed to be an insane asylum. Horrible bloodied clowns with weapons for limbs coming out from around corners was not doing anything for Makas nerves. Much to Soul's disappointment, Maka wasn't clinging to Soul's arm like he hoped she would. Instead her knuckles were turning white as she gripped the material inside her pockets. She was determined to keep her hands there at all costs; it helped her resist the urge to strike anyone. The good humored expression she had worn earlier had faded into a look of anxiety. They continued on until they reached the laboratory. It was dark in there besides the one flickering fluorescent light that hung above the doctor at the operating table. That doctor... both his body and lab coat were covered in stitches, a large flat head screw protruded through both sides of his skull, and he had a grin on his face that only a madman could wear. Before him was a mangled corpse, it's entrails and bodily fluids spilling out all over the place. The mad doctor began to laugh.

"I want to dissect! I want to dissect everything! All of you..." He had a bloody scalpel in his latex gloved hand, and he fiddled with it as he began to approach the group. Maka and Soul didn't waste any time moving along but unfortunately, the crazed doctor was following behind the group, stalking them to the next attraction of the asylum. The hallway led to an infirmary where mental patients, shaved bald and clad in nothing but hospital gowns were strapped to gurneys. Doctors wearing clown masks were using huge needles to inject patients with a mysterious black substance. The patients were laughing and singing something about their blood being black. They left the infirmary, and pretty much everyone in the group was a little on edge. They couldn't tell if the mad doctor from earlier was still following behind them. It was too dark to see much of anything besides illuminated signs that said they were headed towards the morgue. They made their way down a flight of stairs, blood smeared the walls, and bangs and the sound of chains rustling were coming from behind the door they were approaching. There were words scratched into the door. Maka could barely make them out, but it looked like they spelled out, 'The madness lives'. Suddenly, the door opened wrenching and screeching. All sounds stopped, and behind the door was more darkness. The group walked inside as the door shut behind them, and for a moment nothing happened. Slowly, a green light began to glow from the back of the countertops that surrounded the room, so only silhouettes of medical tables with cadavers draped in white sheets were visible. The bodies began to rise simultaneously, and Maka speed through the room to avoid any confrontations from the 'reanimated corpses,' but that turned out to be a mistake. A few of the cadavers began to chase after her, and as the light became somewhat better as she could see her pursuers, they all looked the same, skinny men with black and white spikey striped hair, their faces and bodies wrapped in scarves and bandages; eyes tattooed all over them. They were yelling something about succumbing to the madness. The original mummy-like creatures fell behind but ones in the same costume kept popping up, jumping out at her. This did not mean well for the unfortunate actors safety. She rounded another corner and raced up a new set of stairs. In the semi darkness she saw a glowing red exit sign; at last! She thought she was home free... and then it happened. Another one of those detestable mummies came down from the ceiling right in front of her and Maka just wasn't prepared. In her shock she impulsively hammer-fisted the creature square in the jaw, its head came clear off its shoulders. Maka stood there, truly horrified for the first time that evening. She was about to panic about possibly murdering someone when sparks began to shoot out of the neck of the creature... It was a prop... Just a prop. Maka was so relieved she could cry when she heard Soul calling out from behind her.

"Maka, wait up! Oh, there you are. What are you... Oh... God damn..."

"Hey you, kid!" It was the crazed doctor from earlier. "That animatronic was over $1000! You have to pay for that!"

"Ohhhhh, shit." Quicker than she could register, Soul grabbed Maka by the wrist and pulled her along bolting for the exit. Once they got outside they didn't waste time to reorient themselves and located the parking lot. As soon as they reached his bike Soul took the helmet and fastened it on Makas head. They mounted the bike and this time Maka didn't hesitate to wrap her arms tightly around Soul waist. Just like that they sped off successfully, making a narrow escape.

As they rode for a while and the excitement died down, Maka began to appreciate the gravity of the situation. Crap, she messed up. Soul probably doesn't want anything to do with her now, after that little stunt she pulled. The thought of that being the case filled her with dread. She could only imagine how miserable the rest of her visit would be, how miserable she would continue to be even after she went back home. Then it dawned on her; she honestly cared about what Soul thought of her. His opinion wasn't something she could simply disregard. She would be deeply affected if he was upset with her. Eventually her anxiety was too much to tolerate, and she wanted to rectify things then and there.

"I'm sorry." She attempted to sound as sincere as she could. Which was hard to do over the loud engine.

"What?" He yelled. Crap, she couldn't hear him. She asked him in a louder voice to pull over, so he did. It was a picnic spot on the side of the highway that was placed on top of a scenic overlook. The plains of the desert stretched on for miles and the lights of Death City below twinkled in the darkness. She removed the helmet and handed it to Soul as he dismounted.

"What's up?" He asked as he helped her off the bike. She didn't look him in the eyes. Instead, she chose to stare at the ground.

"I'm sorry."

"Pfft for what?" She lifted her head and saw he was sincerely puzzled. She opened her mouth to speak but it took her a few tries to get words to form.

"For... Ruining the evening?" She wasn't sure of herself anymore and his sudden burst of laughter wasn't helping.

"Ruining? What are you talking about? I'm having a blast! I mean... I didn't really know what to expect when we went into the house but, damn! You completely destroyed that machine! Those animatronics are built to take some abuse, so I am thoroughly impressed. Where'd you learn to hit so hard?" It took Maka a moment to answer him one because she was dumbstruck that he wasn't perturbed at all, and also whenever she told a guy where she got her fighting skills from they usually don't express much interest in talking to her afterward. Intimidation maybe? She ultimately decided to be honest with Soul, because if they continued to be friends he was going to find out eventually.

"I've um... been doing Martial Arts since I was a kid..."

"Woah, really? That's so badass!" She sighed in relief. She really had nothing to worry about at all. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Maka's novel.

"Ah, here's your book back. Heh, I guess it makes sense now why you disarmed yourself." She took the book in her hand but he didn't let go. She looked up again and realised how close their faces were.

"You're just uh... really cool." even in the dim light from the city below, she could still see the red that started to spread across Soul's cheeks. He closed his eyes and leaned in, hesitating for a moment before softly pressing his lips to hers. She hesitated too before melding into the kiss, she tilted her head so her mouth slanted against his as he let go of her book and wrapped his arms around her waist. For a while she allowed herself to enjoy it, until she realised that she had another potential problem; Hiro. Would knowing about what happened change anything for Soul? As much as she was ashamed of it he had a right to know. She broke the kiss and looked him in the eyes; he was confused and searching her features.

"What's wrong?"

"Soul... theres something you need to know... Hiro and I..."

"Made out? Yeah I know. What about it?" She was dumbstruck again and Soul just shrugged.

"You... What?"

"He was harping about it in the bathroom earlier today, something about you being a prude or whatever, I figured you must have a lot of self respect to turn down a guy like him." He leaned in again smirking at her very flushed face. "He's full of crap. I happen to think you're great at kissing." Their lips met again and Maka thought it would be best to just stop thinking for now. They stayed pulled over at the overlook for a while, sitting on top of a picnic table enjoying the view, telling jokes and sharing more kisses. Neither of them were sure what they were at this point, but they were going to let things take their course and go from there.

AN: Okay, how the hell did this end up being shorter than the last chapter? More stuff happened in this one! Oh well. The reason the Goat sacrifice was sparkly is because my editor, GlitterGoat was making a camio. I wanted to say something else but I forget... Feel free to review, as always. Thank you all~


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Yes! finially, sorry this took so long... I had homework. I get asked a lot when my updates are gonna be, and to answer that my updates happen immediately after each chapter is written and edited. This happens every couple of weeks or so, but I can't really give specific dates because I'm terrible with deadlines. I do however post occasional status updates about how my chapters are coming and when I'm striving for another update on my tumblr~ Feel free to contact me there as well. So anyways this is the longest and the steamiest update yet. I hope you enjoy! Oh btw I don't own Soul Eater, Black Ops, or Playstation... just sayin~

Maka's sensibilities and instincts that had been forbidding her to go outside her comfort zone were completely silent whenever she was around Soul. When he kissed her for the first time, instead of feeling intensely awkward, she was happy. She was thrilled because this meant Soul reciprocated the feelings that Maka realised she had as well. However, she was also somewhat worried about how fast things were happening. She really liked Soul and she didn't want things to get messed up, but she figured they'd cross that bridge when they got there.

It was funny; they talked a lot while enjoying the scenery of the overlook, but more often than not, they were stealing glances at each other. Whenever Soul caught her staring, he would lean down to kiss her again; soft, quick but affectionate kisses. He seemed to be excited about this newfound freedom and Maka was too, but she was just too bashful to initiate anything yet.

"So,you're sleeping in Tsubaki's room tonight, right?" He inquired passively; Maka's attention was instantly drawn back to the pain in her neck from the night before. She was not looking forward to sleeping on the floor again. She sighed audibly at the thought.

"Yeeeeaaaah..."

"You sound really bummed out by that." He snickered; Maka grimaced and nodded.

"It can't be that bad can it? I mean, it's not like she's making you sleep on the floor." Maka sighed again at his accuracy and Soul, being a perceptive bastard, picked up on it.

"No... Seriously?"

"Well, Tsubaki wanted me to sleep in with her in the bed but she's a really violent sleeper. I'd rather sleep on the floor then get punched in the face."

"But the floor is cold and dirty. You can't be alright with that."

"I don't really have a choice."

"Yeah... you do." Soul said, scratching the back of his head. Maka was confused, the sudden awkwardness Soul was projecting only added to that.

"And what's that?"

"You could stay with me... in my room." Shit... Maka didn't know what to say to that. Sharing a room, not to mention a bed was a big step... Wasn't this going a little too fast? Her uncertainty must've shown clearly as Soul started to stutter, trying to make his intentions clear.

"OH, hey... I didn't mean like that! I'm not trying to make you do anything you don't want to and plus I live with Black Star, so it's not like we could do anything...I just don't want you to sleep on the floor...and ugh, so uncool..."

Maka was eased by his promise and a little amused by how nervous he was. She knew Soul meant what he said and the temptation of actually sleeping in a bed tonight far outweighed the notion that sharing a bed with a boy you just met was improper.

"Thank you, Soul. That'd be great."

"Oh, awesome." He sighed, seeming relieved. "It's getting late, we should probably head back."

"Alright."

It was only a short drive back to campus and Maka felt a little disappointed because she had been enjoying the ride on Soul's motorcycle. The parking lot in front of Eibon hall was full, so they parked closer to the main gate. Soul was surprised when Maka was the one to take his hand as they made their way back to the dorm, not that he was objecting.

"Can we go riding again tomorrow, Soul?"

"Sure, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

And he truly was. Soul was happy that he could show her something she could enjoy and not be afraid of. It also showed him that she trusted his judgement, and trusted him with her safety. Trust wasn't something Soul took for granted from anyone, but he was especially grateful to have Maka's. Soul could tell she had difficulties with things like that because of the way she was brought up with her father's philandering ways and her mother's abandonment; it was no wonder she had problems trusting people, especially guys. Soul was flattered by the faith she had in him and he wasn't about to let her down.

"Oh, I should probably tell you, Black*Star's a bit of a slob, so his side of the room is pretty gross, and yeah... Sorry about that."

"Meh, I'm not surprised. Should expect that much coming from that guy."

"Heh, tell me about it."

It wasn't long before they reached the dorm. They got in through the basement door as Soul's room was closer to the entrance. Walking past the couches they'd been lounging on earlier, Maka couldn't help but marvel at how much had happened since then. They reached his door; Soul sorted through his keys and unlocked it. He flipped the light on and revealed a room that was horribly messy on one side and reasonably straightened up on the other. Soul and Black*Star were provided the same furniture that Kim and Tsubaki had. Their beds were arranged in an L shape design, one bed was a high loft on top facing one direction, and the bottom was a low loft facing the other. Maka hoped Soul's bed was on the low loft, because she didn't like high lofts; there weren't any barriers on either sides of the bed, and she had a fear of accidentally rolling and falling off in the middle of the night.

On what Maka assumed to be Black Star's side of the room was trash, dirty dishes, and clothes haphazardly sprawled out all over the place. Maka scrunched her nose at the disaster area while Soul graciously offered her a seat at his better kept desk. Soul's side of the room was nice. It wasn't immaculate, not that she was expecting it to be; his bed wasn't made and there were a few empty bottles of soda on his dresser, but it was nothing grotesque like Black*Stars mess. The wall facing his bed was adorned with posters of various cult classic movies and rock bands. On his dresser sat a decent sized television with a PS3 hooked up and next to his desk, was an electric keyboard.

"I keep telling that jackass to pick up his shit."

Maka was sympathetic for Soul, since the mess obviously bothered him.

"It's fine Soul, I don't mind."

Even as she told him this, Soul continued to make an attempt to make his bed a little before he sat on it. Something on Soul's desk caught Maka's eye and she leaned over to pick it up.

"Um.. Soul?" She held up the videogame case up for him to see as he sat down. "Are these... Nazi zombies?"

He smiled and chuckled, taking the game case from her.

"Yeah! Oh, don't tell me you've never heard of Black Ops."

"I don't really play video games that much."

"You should, Call of Duty is fun. Killing zombies is a great stress reliever. It would probably be a good outlet for you too; better than assaulting people with books, at least." Maka found a stray shoe on the floor and Soul laughed when she chucked it at his face. He removed the disk from his case and inserted it into the console, turning his TV on while doing so. He reached into the top drawer under the TV and pulled out two controllers, turning them on.

"C'mere, I want you to play with me." He beckoned her over to sit next to him on the bed. She blushed at the innuendo, raising her eyebrows. Soul laughed again.

"Pfft, not like that, you pervert. Come on, I want you to shoot some zombies with me."

"But I don't know how!"

"S'alright. I'll teach you." Video games never really appealed to Maka but since Soul was so insistent, she slipped off her shoes and joined him on his bed, sitting cross legged as he handed her the controller. Video games can't be that hard, right? Little kids were able to play them so that must mean anyone was capable right?

"So, we'll start with one player so I can show you how..."

"Nah, it's good. Lets just play."

"...What? But you just said you don't know how."

"It's fine, I'll figure it out as we play."

"Kay..." It was true, Maka had never touched a ps3 controler until now and she still had no idea what she was getting herself into, but Maka was a stubborn person. She didn't like asking for help if she could avoid it. She was sure she'd get the hang of the game quickly, at least she was sure before the game actually started. The screen was split horizontally; Soul was player 1 and she was player 2. They were spawned in a dark spacious lobby, where tattered old Nazi flags covered the walls. A group of creatures with glowing yellow eyes came limping from around the corner; the zombies, Maka assumed. It was then Maka realized she didn't know how to move her character. She tried moving her left and right analogue simultaneously and all that did was make her screen spin. The zombies were still coming towards her.

"Having some difficulties?" Soul smiled as he watched Maka's screen flail. She pouted.

"Noooo!" She started mashing the X button but that only made the orientation worse. So she began mashing all of the buttons simultaneously and that didn't solve anything. The zombies closed in on her and she watched as her character get attacked.

She hadn't noticed Soul crawl behind Maka in her moment of crisis. She jumped when his arms wrapped around her, placing his hands over hers on the controls and stilling them. Her breath hitched when he rested his chin on her shoulder, his white hair tickling her cheek.

"But Soul, you'll die!" Maka exclaimed, referring to Soul's in-game character.

"It's cool, just a game anyways." He walked her through the basics of how the game was played. He explained that the left analogue stick to for moving and the right adjustedt the camera view. The X button was used to jump, square button to access inventory, triangle button to change guns, and O button to change stances... whatever that meant. She couldn't really focus with him being so close; the way he talked softly into her ear like that sent chills up her spine. She still wasn't used to the physical closeness even though they were already kissing. Maka was nervous, but also excited; his proximity made her feel warm and made her body long to have more contact with his own. She supposed this is what it felt like to be turned on.

"Maka, did you hear what I said?"

"Uhhh..."

"Pfft way to listen, nerd. Okay, you use R1 to shoot, like this see?" He retracted his finger so hers would press the correct button. Okay, she had it now. She rounded the corner when a few zombies broke in through a window and staggered menacingly towards her. She aimed and fired but she couldn't seem to shoot one. She practically showered the crowd of zombies with bullets but to no avail. Soul was supportive though, correcting her timing and her aim; he was just about as excited as she was when she killed her first group of zombies.

"Oh my gosh Soul, I did it!"

"Yes! That was so cool!" In his moment of excitement, he promptly pressed a kiss to her temple. She was so distracted by this that she didn't notice the group of zombies that had come up from behind her character, and before she knew it, Maka was killed again.

"Awwww, you made me die."

"Heh, sorry." He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her waist and began nuzzling his face into her neck. She shuddered when he pressed his lips to her skin. The game was forgotten, the audio became white noise as Maka tilted her head to give Soul better access . All was going well until they heard a knock at the door.

"I wonder who that... Did you tell Tsubaki you'd be in my room tonight?" Maka was slightly dazed, it took a moment to process what Soul had said.

"Umm... Oh yeah, I texted her before we got back."

"Who is it?" Soul called but no one answered. He reluctantly got up to go answer the door. No one was there, but there was a plastic shopping bag hanging off the door handle. It looked like there was a note and some clothing in the bag; Soul took out the piece of paper and examined it.

"It's for you." Soul brought Maka the bag and handed her the note. Apparently, it was from Tsubaki.

Dear Maka-chan,

I got your text saying you are sleeping at Soul's tonight. I just wanted to let you know that Kim and I won't be in the room this evening; our friend Jackie is sick and were going over to take care of her. So you won't be able to get into the room because it will be locked. I brought you something to wear to bed and I hope you and Soul have fun this evening.

-Tsubaki

There was some sort of black and white garment in the bag and Maka took it out to examine it...

"What the fuck?" Soul beat her to the punch. Maka's worst fears had come true... A sexy maid's outfit. The get-up consisted of some sort of lace apron babydoll, completely unlined and see through and a matching lace thong. This outfit covered absolutely nothing, it couldn't even be considered clothing. She was so angry; Soul was really alarmed when he saw Maka's shoulders begin to shake. She looked like she wanted to kill someone.

"Maka... are you okay?"

"She's so fucking despicable! What the fuck is her problem?! The fucking nerve of her to lock me out of her room with nothing but a bit of lace to sleep in!"

She threw the bag and its contents across the room.

"Why can't she just fucking mind her own business? I don't need anyone's fucking help with my love life, god damn it! Why can't she just leave me alone..." Maka was frustrated to tears but she hated crying in front of others; there was just too much pride in her body for that.

So, Maka buried her face in her hands and let out an exasperated gasp. Soul didn't know what to do. He wanted to do something to help but he wasn't sure how. He didn't blame Maka for feeling or reacting the way she did. What Tsubaki did was really fucked up and he was really annoyed and embarrassed himself, but Soul wasn't used to handling other people's emotions. Should he hug her or something? That probably wouldn't help; she looked way too agitated. He wanted to offer some sort of physical comfort though, so he settled for putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I don't think Tsubaki acted alone. I have a feeling the Thompsons and Kim helped her. I'm so sorry, Maka. I don't know if they thought they were doing me a favor or what, but this was completely uncool of them." She sighed and lifted her head after being sure she could keep her composure. The sleeves from her hoodie were wet from her eyes and she was grimacing at the skimpy lingerie in the corner of the room.

"Well, I guess I'm sleeping in my clothes tonight."

"Nah, you don't have to. You can wear something of mine to bed. I mean, if you're alright with that."

"...Sure. I'd really appreciate that." Maka decided to take him on his offer. Sleeping in a blouse and a denim skirt didn't really appeal to her. They went over to his dresser drawers and opened up the second one where Soul kept his boxers, socks and night clothes. He handed her the smallest shirt he had, a Metallica band shirt. There was only one pair of pj bottoms and Maka told Soul to wear them because she didn't want him to sleep in his jeans.

"I'm really sorry... I need to do laundry." Soul apologised. Although he didn't have any more pairs of sleep shorts or pajamas, Maka noticed he had a plethora of boxer shorts.

"Hey, can I just borrow a pair of your boxers or something?" Maka didn't give a shit anymore with how annoyed she was and it was better than sleeping in her panties. Soul's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Yeah, that's fine, whatever you're comfortable with." She chose a pair of light blue ones and while he went into the bathroom to change into his sleep pants, Maka changed as well. The shirt was too big for her and she had to take out her ponytail to fasten a knot on the side of his boxers so they would stay on her hips. Soul knocked and asked if it was alright to come back inside. When he opened the door, he was in awe a little. Soul didn't understand why he was turned on by the sight of her in his clothes but it probably was due to the appearance of intimacy between them that appealed to him. He shook his head; it was not the time nor the place to be having those kinds of thoughts. Maka was trusting him to be a gentleman, so that's exactly what he was going to be: a fucking gentleman.

"So um.. You look kinda tired. You wanna turn in now?"

"Yeah, sure, might as well." Maka spoke stiffly, still in a very sour mood. A thought struck her suddenly: if everyone else was expecting her to get laid tonight, was Soul expecting that too? There was no way she was ready for that. Soul turned off the light and got in bed while Maka eyed him almost suspiciously. She stood there for a few moments before Soul had enough.

"Are you going to come to bed?" She snapped out of her thoughts at that and crawled into bed with him, creating as much distance between their bodies as possible. This didn't work well considering they were in a twin-sized bed, with Maka was teetering on the very edge of the mattress facing away from Soul. She kept her eyes squinted shut in poorly executed fake sleep until Soul tapped her on the shoulder.

"C'mere, you're gonna fall off if you lay that close to the edge."

"It's whatever. If I end up on the floor, I'll just sleep there again." That came out colder than Maka had intended it to sound, making Soul flinch.

"You don't wanna do that, there are ants down there."

"I don't care."

"Okay, what the hell is your problem?" Maka looked over to see him with a mix of confusion and annoyance on his face. He was fed up with this shit. She was acting so coldly towards him and Soul didn't know how to deal with her when he was just trying to offer some comfort.

"Nothing... I'm just not ready for this."

"Ready for what? We're not even doing anything."

"For sex! Or was the slutty maid outfit not a big enough hint?" She spat back. "Everyone else is expecting us to do it! You probably are, too! For all I know, you're probably in on this! You, Hiro, you men are all alike!" Maka saw the hurt on his face and instantly knew she was being unfair. Soul sat up, his expression melting into a look of offense.

"You really think I'm on the same level with that douche? Thanks, Maka, thanks a lot." The words stung as he looked upon her with hard, cold eyes; it probably wasn't unlike the the looks she had been directing at him only moments before. Dirty looks he did nothing to deserve. She was suddenly very unsure of herself.

"I..uh..."

"Do you think I like having my dumbass friends stick their noses into my love life all the time? Because I don't and I've been putting up with this bull shit for years. Seriously, I've never done this before and I'm just about as unsure in all of this as you are. But even if I wasn't, I would never try to persuade you to doing something you weren't absolutely sure you were ready for. I would never try to take advantage of you like that, Maka. Trust isn't something I take for granted."

"...Why me?" It was all she could think to say. If his friends had been pressing him about this for years, how was it that Soul hadn't done this with another girl already?

"Because I didn't meet a girl who was good enough until now." He said flatly. The annoyance from his features was gone but the contentment had yet to return.

"As sappy and uncool as it sounds, you're really special to me and I really don't want to mess this up." Maka was both flattered and excited to find out how much she meant to Soul. She was also ashamed for treating him so bitterly and unfairly.

"Soul... I'm so sorry."

"Why, are you rejecting me?" He laughed when she sputtered, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"No! Soul, I really like you a lot, too! You didn't deserve being treated like that." She sat up to express how serious she was. Soul only sighed.

"Maka, I don't care about that. If nothing else, I just want you to feel like you can trust me... and I don't really think you do." It was then that his cell phone began to ring. He held up his finger to tell her he'd only be a second.

"What do you want, Black*Star?...What why?... No, dude, you don't have to just... But we're not... Ugh, whatever, you suck. Bye." Soul dropped his phone aggravatedly back on the windowsill and turned towards Maka.

"Hey, Black*Star's not coming back tonight. Since you don't seem comfortable sharing a bed with me, I'll just sleep in his bed and you can sleep here in mine." He attempted to crawl out of bed but Maka lunged forward, wrapping her arms around his waist to stop him.

"No Soul, don't... I didn't mean any of the things I said. I was just really upset and confused. I do trust you and I care about you. We just haven't known each other that long and this is all happening really fast and I... I don't know. I just want you to stay, okay?" Soul turned lifting his legs so they were back up on the bed, wrapping his arms around her small frame to pull her close. Maka wasn't used to expressing her feelings like this and neither was he. Everything just felt so natural between them, they both felt so at ease in each other's presence. It was only in retrospect when the pair realised that had been the first time they had ever embraced like that.

"Yeah, I know it's crazy, but I think the reason things are happening so fast is because we're just hitting it off really well." She laughed at his observation, her body shaking against his. Soul shoved the thoughts of how nice her body felt against his to the very back of his mind.

"We can take this as slow or as fast as you want, Maka. Only do what you're comfortable with." It was with Soul's sweet and reassuring words that all of Maka's worries were put completely at ease. She realised she was alright with the way things were going as long as it was on her terms and she didn't feel like she was being pressured into anything. But Maka had a new growing concern. Did Soul have any inhibitions or things he wasn't comfortable with doing? She didn't want to pressure him into doing something he wasn't ready for.

"What about you?" Maka asked as she let go of his midsection to run her hands up his chest and wrap her arms around his neck. He was barely able to repress a shiver.

"What about me?" He sighed as she nuzzled his cheek with her nose... She was so fucking cute. She was kneeling beside him and Soul decided the the safest place to put his hands was on her hips.

"What... are you okay with doing?" She was too bashful to ask bluntly what her limitations were as to what she was allowed to try. Soul understood though, smiling softly as she brushed her nose against his, their lips only a hair's breadth apart.

"I'm cool with anything you want to do." And with that she pressed her lips to his. Maka didn't really know where all this confidence was coming from, nor did she really care. She noticed while Soul was receptive to everything she did, he made no attempt to deepen the kiss or make any advances. He was letting her call all the shots, being such a gentleman. She experimentally poked her tongue out to run it along Soul's lips. He immediately obliged, opening his mouth and softly angling it against hers. It was slow at first, neither of them having any experience with making out. Soul was hesitant, his tongue running against hers as she explored the new territory that was his mouth. They tried out different ways of angling their heads, figuring out which ways were most suitable.

It was only slightly awkward in the beginning, but not nearly as awkward as Maka's first experience with Hiro. Thinking back to it, that was kind of pathetic on Hiro's part, considering all the practice he supposedly had. It was when they eventually got the hang of it, that Soul became braver with his actions. Poor guy couldn't help himself. He pulled her tightly against him as their rhythm became more heady. He ran his hands up and down her back and along her sides, not really of his own volition but because he was becoming a little intoxicated by her presence. He was doing everything in his power to keep from groping her.

Maka moaned against his lips, reveling in this new sensation; this needy want to be closer to him. Acting on this desire, she lifted her knee and placed it on the other side of Soul to straddle his hips. That was when Soul lost grip on his self control. It was only for a moment but apparently that was all the time Soul needed to flip her onto her back and continue with their activities on top of her. For a second, he was afraid he'd gone to far, but was put at ease by the sound of Maka's giggling against his mouth. This new position wasn't working out great for Soul; not only did he have to resist the urge to feel her up, but now he had to resist the urge to grind into her as well. Maka liked it though, she ran her hands along the muscles of his back, taking delight in the feeling of his chiseled contours. Soul had a lovely body, and a lovely ass, she recalled. She hadn't noticed her hands had wandered down to the small of his back. Well, since she was already there, Maka figured one little grab wouldn't hurt. So she did and Soul froze. She didn't even have a chance to marvel at how firm it was before Soul pulled back to stare at her incredulously.

"...Did you really just grope my ass?"

"...Maybe."

"...Is it okay if I... I mean... Ah shit." Soul rubbed the back of his neck feeling like a complete idiot. Was there a cool way to ask permission to feel someone up? Maka thought his bashfulness was sweet.

"Yeah, it's fine, Soul." She pulled him back down to kiss him again and it only took a moment before they were back in sync. Soul's hands wandered from the place on her hips slipping behind her to fondle her ass. It felt better than Maka expected it to, her breath hitched and her legs lifted off the bed and wrapped around Soul's hips. Soul was going to lose his mind; she was actually grinding herself against his crotch, against the hard-on he just realized he had. Was Maka okay with that? She must've been, judging from the wonderful sounding gasps and mewls that escaped her. She was being silly, she didn't need to go through all that trouble, Soul would gladly do it for her.

Maka was very pleased with this, her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest as she writhed beneath him. Soul broke away again for air as Maka craned her head back after a few particularly satisfying thrusts against her core, exposing her long, elegant neck to him. He wanted to taste it. Soul dipped his head down, teasingly avoiding her lips. He instead trailed kisses from the corner of her mouth down her jaw and closer to his target. He loved this, from the delicious smell of her hair, to the feeling of her rapid pulse under his tongue. He also loved the little gasps and whispers of his name as he nibbled and sucked on Maka's pale skin. She couldn't be bothered by the fact that he was probably going to leave a mark, the feeling of his mouth against her skin sending chills up and down her spine. Soul took delight in feeling her trembling beneath him. His hands were moving again, around her hips and up the planes of her taut stomach; Soul stopped just short of her breasts.

"Hey... how bout here?" His voice was low and husky, his breath hot against her worried skin; everything was making Maka excited.

"Mmm, anywhere you want."

"Heh, shouldn't tell me that." He chuckled as he began to caress the mounds of incredibly soft flesh. Soul soon discovered all the qualities smaller tits had; they were perkier, more sensitive judging from the way Maka moaned and arched her back, they fit in his hands perfectly and they could probably fit in his mouth too... But he should probably test that theory later. She wasn't wearing a bra and he reveled in the fact that the only thing that separated his hands from her delicate pale skin was that flimsy band shirt of his. He felt one of her nipples harden beneath his hands, so he teased it in between his forefinger and thumb. After a particularly loud groan and shiver, Maka attempted to do the unthinkable; she attempted to pull her shirt over her head. That was when painful reality came crashing down on Soul; for he had remembered he didn't have a condom. He managed to catch her hands before she was able to expose her bare chest to him and pinned them on either side of her head. The flushed, pouty face she made was too fucking adorable.

"Aw c'mon, what's wrong?" She whined and Soul desperately wanted to just let her take off her clothes but that would be too irresponsible. If they went any further, there would be no way he could handle just stopping. He cursed himself for not keeping any on hand just in case.

"Maka, we can't." He sighed reluctantly as she squirmed to escape his grasp.

"Why not?"

"Because we don't have any protection."

"...Oh."

"Yeah." He let go of her wrists; she huffed and crossed her arms.

"Tease.." She muttered under her breath and he laughed despite his painfully neglected member.

"Pfft, excuse me?"

They both decided that if things got too intimate they would probably get carried away, so the pair settled for spending the rest of the night kissing and touching each other until they exhausted themselves. Both Soul and Maka were surprised to see how late it had gotten when they finally decided to turn in, the red numbers on Soul's alarm clock displaying to them that it was a little past 3 AM. It gave them both a whole new appreciation for the saying "time flies when you're having fun".

They laid there; Maka on her back and Soul on his side, resting his head on Maka's chest. She absently ran her fingers through his hair, having a bit of a déjà vu moment as she did. Soul loved the feeling of her playing with his hair, fighting the urge to doze off as he sighed contently.

"So, are we dating now or something?" He chuckled; Maka perked up at the words Soul badly disguised as a passive comment. She was thoughtful about how to respond.

"Aren't you supposed to go out on dates before start you dating someone?"

"Typically and we just went on one, so that counts." Wait. What? When did they... oh!

"The haunted house... that was a date?"

"Yeah... I thought it was... I thought you knew."

"No." They stared at each other for a moment before they burst out laughing; both finding amusement at how ridiculous they felt.

"Oh my god, I'm so oblivious. I feel so dumb!"

"Nah, I'm an idiot for assuming things." Soul waited for their chuckles to die down before he started again.

"Seriously though, will you go out with me?" She looked down at him to see complete sincerity in his eyes. Maka's heart sputtered erratically; Soul was asking her to be his girlfriend. In the back of her mind, she knew how cliche it was with how happy that made her was, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

"Yeah, alright." The smile that spread across Soul's face was radiant; his eyes were a gleaming red, reflecting how immensely pleased he was.

"Cool."

AN: Wow so first time writing intense romance like that... Hope it was alright. Thank you wifey's Bitter November, and GlitterGoat for all the help and the edits, And Thank you Lu for all of the help and making me write everyday. I got the lingerie I was describing off of the Victoria's Secret website. If you want to see the lingerie click this~ sleepwear/lingerie/sexy-little-french-maid-sexy-little-things?ProductID=21929&CatalogueType=OLS Also for any of my readers that play Black Ops, I was attempting to describe kino der toten map. I was trying to go off what I remembered from it, please don't flame me for inaccuracy's its been a while since I payed T-T Thank you all for the love and support I'll update as soon as I can!


	7. Chapter 7

AN: I'M SORRY! I've been really busy with school and trying to pass my classes... And I'm addicted to now and I just dunno when to find time and gah... I'm sorry. Anyway... smutty chapter is smutty hope you enjoy~ Thank you all for sticking around...

Maka was slightly disoriented when she awoke the next morning. It took her a moment to realize where she was; she felt her face heat up as the gravity of what all had happened sunk in. Holy shit, she agreed to to start going out with a guy she hadn't even known for 48 hours... Hell, she'd almost slept with him and she initiated everything! That wasn't like her at all, what had she been thinking? Her nerves and rash thinking were stirring her into a panic, but then she remembered how he had been a perfect gentleman; asking her permission before making any sort of advance. He had also been the responsible one, stopping them from going any further because of the lack of contraceptives. She calmed when she remembered how wonderful Soul was: honest, loyal, considerate, sweet and most of all, a snarky jackass. She realised that her behavior from last night had been completely reasonable and that she wouldn't mind continuing from where they had left off.

Maka noticed Soul's arms wrapped were around her, her body pulled close against him. She could feel his warm breath against her neck; she could also feel something hard pressed up against the small of her back. No matter how she adjusted, she couldn't get it to go away. She turned around in his arms so that she was facing him, to see the he was still fast asleep. She couldn't help but smile at how precious he looked; his long lashes casted shadows in the morning light, his breathing was slow and even, his mouth was slightly parted with a small drip of drool escaping from between his lips. She wouldn't mind waking up next to him more often, and was giddy to know that she could. Soul was her boyfriend now, they could do a lot of things together~

Maka's eyes began to wander down between their bodies; she discovered the source of the hardness pressed against her back earlier. Soul was pitching a tent in his pants and this matter didn't bother Maka as it perhaps should have; it only made her curious. She had ideas but he should probably be conscious so he could consent to them. She sought to wake him up by kissing him, moving her lips against his until he stirred. Sultry red eyes opened to greet her, she could feel a small smile spread against her mouth before he joined in the kiss. Maka opted out of trying to articulate what she wanted to do, deciding it would be best just to show him. Her hand slowly creeped down in between them to very deliberately rub against his hardon. Soul's breath hitched as his eyes shot open.

"Huh, what?! Oh my god..." He stammered immediately flipping onto his back, attempting to cover his erection with the comforter.

"What's wrong? Did I hurt you?"

"No, It's just... Maka, you don't have to..."

"But I want to. Is it okay?" Soul was having a very difficult time wrapping his head around this situation. She was asking him permission to touch him intimately... not because she saw his morning wood and thought she was supposed to but because she wanted to? He was too groggy and unwilling to think too hard about it. He gave her a slow nod, moving his hands away to let her do whatever she wanted. Maka smiled, moving the blanket off of his lap and pulling at the waistbands of his sleep pants and boxers.

Maka was nervous and hesitant, slowly inching the fabric down lower and lower; her gaze shifting between the task at hand and reading Soul's expression. He stared back at her, his upper body propped up on his forearms. His breathing was fast and shallow with anticipation. He was nervous too, he couldn't believe this was happening. He didn't know what to expect; nor did he know what she was expecting. Soul couldn't help but feel somewhat insecure; he swallowed hard as his pants were pulled down far enough to expose his length. He laid there, studying her features for a few agonizing seconds before Maka's lips quirked into a mischievous grin. Soul released a breath he didn't know he was holding as her hand came up to lightly graze his shaft; she could feel him twitch at her touch. It was so warm, she hesitantly wrapped her hand around the base, experimentally moving her hand up and down.

"Like this?"

"Mmm, yeah.." His voice was low and husky as he put his hand over hers to adjust her grip. "You don't have to be so gentle."

Soul was immensely enjoying himself as she experimented with different techniques. Maka watched, listened and gauged his reactions intently to see what he seemed to enjoy the most. She was surprised how much his needy moans and gasps excited her, causing a familiar heat to grow between her legs. Maka learned from trial and error that he seemed to moan the loudest when she tightened her grip mid-stroke.

"Hey... Take off your shirt." She mumbled glancing up at him through banges that covered her eyes. She wasn't used to giving commands and she didn't know how to be sexy. Little did she know, her brilliant green eyes contrasting with her flushed skin and timid but enthusiastic disposition; everything about her was driving him mad. There wasn't anything in this world that he could possibly find more sexy than her. He quickly complied with her request, pulling his shirt over his head while she continued to pump him, but he couldn't simply lay back anymore with her looking so damn perfect and and pleasuring him the way she was. He remained sitting up after removing his shirt, taking her face in his hands and pressing his mouth to hers, not hesitating before slipping his tongue inside. Maka hadn't noticed the hand that had snaked its way under her shirt to palm one of her breast and tease a pert nipple. Her skin was so soft to Soul. She moaned against his mouth, running her free hand down the plains of his chest. He shivered when her lips to press against the corner of his jaw right under his ear. Maka knew not what she was doing at this point, just whatever felt right to her as she trailed kisses down his neck and to his collarbone, licking and nibbling.

Soul began to lean back as she made her way down his chest and torso, working her tongue against the indent of his scar. His head was resting on the pillow when her lips made it just below his navel. Where was her mouth going? Soul's eyes widened when she began to plant small kisses down the white expanse of his happy trail. A whimper escaped him when his member brushed against her cheek; he had such a lovely falsetto. Soul didn't want to think about how uncool he must have looked at the moment, his neck straining to watch her every move. Could she really be planning on... oh yes, she definitely was. The small kiss she planted at the base of his cock confirmed it; his entire lower body shook as a response to the contact. He should say something, tell her she didn't have to, be a gentleman but he couldn't remember how words worked aside from unintelligible swearing and saying her name as puffs of warm breath hit his skin. She shot him a sweet smile before making a long languid lick up the length of his cock; his head lolled back with a long drawn out "Fuuuuuuuuck~".

As soon as Soul recovered a little composure, his head snapped back up, he didn't want to miss anything. Although, he might've blacked out somewhat when Maka took the tip of him into her mouth. All he could do was growl her name and tuck the hair out of her face as she took in more and more of him; working her tongue against the sensitive flesh. How was she so good at this? Maka's mouth was hot and amazing, her tongue felt amazing, she was amazing and fuck... Seeing her mouth around him was probably one of the most fantastic things he'd ever seen and he wasn't going to last long at this rate. Okay, he should definitely warn her about that.

"Haah, Maka.. Hold up I'm gonna..." was all he could manage to articulate. Maka understood and simply hummed in approval, taking what she couldn't fit in her mouth in her hand and resumed pumping. Soul didn't have much control over his body anymore; he couldn't stop his hips from bucking into her mouth. She seemed to encourage this sort of behavior though, so he only felt sort of bad about it. He was getting so close, past the point of no return and it was only a matter of time before Soul reached his climax.

Then suddenly, her dusty green eyes made contact with his, half lidded with lust; he was finally sent over the edge with the hum of pleasure she made in response to his gaze. His body shook, groaning out her name and drawing out each syllable. His abdominals flexed and contracted; his arms quivered as he gripped her shoulders for support. He attempted to stop her, but she seemed dead set on keeping her mouth on his dick as he came. His brain stopped working when he saw her swallow.

"Tastes... Weird." He sighed and blinked regaining some semblance of thought.

"Well I told you not to... Er, tried to." She smiled making her way up his torso so that they were face to face with her laying on top of him.

"Yeah I know, but I wanted to, and you liked it didn't you?" Instead of answering, he craned his neck up to press his lips to hers. Maka's hands came up to tangle in his hair as her legs drifted apart to straddle his hips. Their previous activities had been fun but they left Maka hot and bothered. She restlessly ground herself against his thigh and his breath hitched understanding just what she was trying to tell him.

"I could... do stuff for you as well..." he traced a finger down the side of her leg. "If you want me to."

"Aaah, I'd like that." She mumbled coyly; Maka was so fucking cute. He rolled her over so she was on her back, his fingers danced along the inside of her impossibly long legs. Soul was admittedly a leg guy, it was one of the things that attracted him to Maka. He was just laying down in the lounge watching TV (because it was midday and his room was too hot), when his view was obstructed by a miniskirt and the most climbable pair of legs he had ever laid eyes on. He'd like for them to be wrapped around his head... would she like that? Perhaps, but maybe later; he wanted to learn a little more about her body first.

Maka shivered in anticipation as his hand made its way closer to her center, her thighs parting more and more at his approach. His hand delicately snaked under the fabric of the boxers she was wearing. He experimentally pressed his fingers against her core. Her back arched at the contact and this encouraged Soul to continue his ministrations, massaging her slowly from the outside of the soaked material of her panties.

"Like that?" He whispered against her ear; Maka simply whined in frustration.

"Stop teasing." She grabbed his hand to attempt to guide it under her waistband when they heard a loud knocking coming from outside the door. Soul stiffened, flinching when the knocking happened again but louder.

"...Who is it?"

"Yo, you guys decent in there? I need to get my stuff for a shower."

"Ahh.. Can you come back in like an hour?" Soul tried to reason but Black*Star was having none of it.

"Naw, man. I gave you all night out of the kindness of my heart. If you guys aren't finished yet, that's your own damn faults!"

"Black*Star, please..."

"I'll give you to the count of five, y'all better not be naked." Soul growled something about killing Black*Star while adjusting her and himself so they were both decent enough. Maka was flustered and extremely annoyed so she resigned herself to burying her face into Soul's chest with an exasperated huff, in an attempt to hide away from the rest of the world. The countdown ended as Black*Star opened the door. Maka peeked up to see Soul shooting Black*Star the most menacing glare Maka had ever seen; Soul's features only added to the terrifying effect. Black*Star maneuvered around the piles of crap on his side of the room to get to his closet.

"Woooooah." Black*Star mused, getting a good look at Maka. "You get punched in the neck or somethin?" Maka peered up at Soul questioningly; he looked back at her guiltily.

"Yeeaah, about that... Sorry." Maka became increasingly more concerned, gripping her neck and climbing from the bed to examine it in the mirror. When she confronted her reflection, she was taken back by the big red and purplish blotches that adorned her skin. Soul flinched back from the menacing glare Maka shot him.

"Soul, what the hell!? How am I supposed to hide these from my mom?"

"Uhh, they'll go away in a few days... But um, makeup? Scarf? Uh.. turtleneck maybe?" The sound of the Call of Duty case colliding with Soul's skull was drowned out by by Black*Star's obnoxious cackling.

"So Soul," Black*Star started, calming down, "How's it feel to finally become a man?" He inquired as he rummaged through his shit. Soul scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Fuck off, Black*Star."

"What you mean, you guys didn't do it yet?" Soul didn't answer, averting his gaze to the window as Black*Star began snorting.

"C'mon guys, get with the program! You guys like each other, so what's the problem? Unless ya'll are doing that whole abstinence till marriage thing."

"Nooooo." Black*Star was left a little dumbstruck that it had been Maka to express disapproval over that plan. She turned her head from the mirror to address him, concluding matter-of-factly,

"Not that it's any of your business, but we were simply... unprepared last night."

Soul groaned in embarrassment, he didn't think that Maka realized she was just egging Black*Star on.

"Unprepared? What do you mean by... Oh, PFFT Hahahahahahaha! What the hell, Soul? Who goes to college without keeping some spare rubbers on hand? Typical Virgin~" Black*Star reached to the top shelf of his closet and pulled out a black box.

"Don't worry buddy, ol' Black*Star's gotcha covered! Trick or treat!" With that, he showered the couple with a handful of Trojan condoms. "No need to thank me, you kids just be safe tonight!"

"Thank you, Captain Jackass..." Soul muttered under his breath, gathering up the blue and orange wrappers. He was about to chuck them back into the messy abyss that was Black*Star's room when a hand on his wrist stopped him.

"Hold onto those. We'll need them later." She whispered into his ear sheepishly. Soul blinked before tucking the condoms away into the top drawer of his dresser. Maka sat up and ran her fingers through her hair, attempting to untangle the matted mess while Black*Star got his toiletries together.

"Damn, I'm really starting to like Tsubaki..." He paused and recoiled at the raised brows of his friends. "I mean... I think Tsubaki's really into me, but who wouldn't be considering how godly I am." It was kind of funny how he hid his vulnerability behind a mask of confidence, almost sweet in a way. Makes a person wonder what could really be going on underneath. As sweet as he may be, Maka knew Black*Star wasn't Tsubaki's type, but Tsubaki hadn't been a very good friend to Maka as of late and Maka thought it was justified to get a little payback.

"Yeah, I think she likes you. You should go for it." Maka caught the hopeful look in his eyes before he retracted it into his usual cocky grin.

"You think so, huh?" Blackstar asked being careful to disguise the excitement in his voice with a tone of cool indifference. Maka smiled and agreed.

"Alright." he drawled, pleased with himself. Maka turned around and picked up her pile of clothes from off the floor.

"I'm gonna go get cleaned up. I'll be back in a little bit?" She asked, unsure of what the plans were.

"Yeah, that sounds good. We'll get breakfast or something." Maka kissed Soul on the cheek on her way out and left him grinning like an idiot. Black*Star was about to depart as well before he noticed a bundle of black and white lace on the floor. He picked it up to examined it.

"Uh, bro? What's Maka's lingerie doing on my side of the room."

"Oh yeah, that's right, I need to talk to you about that." Soul said throwing his legs over the bed. "First of all, that's not Maka's; it was something Tsubaki or one of the other girls dropped off for Maka to wear to bed. Second of all, they left her stranded here without her suitcase and that was really uncool. Here's the thing though, I don't think she acted alone. Be straight with me man, did you and the Thompsons have anything to do with this?" Black*Star shrugged, flinging the underwear to Soul's side of the room.

"Well, I joked about it with them! I didn't think they were actually going to go do it though. But yeah, that's fucked up..." Black*star admitted graciously. "So, what's the deal with you and Maka now? You guys a thing?"

"Yeah, we're dating."

"Haa! Thats what I'm talking about, bro! It's about time you got a girlfriend!" He ruffled Soul's hair on his way out, shower supplies in tow. Soul used the time he had alone to get dressed, brush his teeth and attempt to tame his hair. He decided on a black tee shirt with a red 10,000 Days design on the front and black denim jeans. Soul contemplated the mysterious turn of events in Maka's behavior. One minute she was standoffish, spouting off about how all men are the same and the next she was ready to jump his bones. He didn't get it, but then again he didn't really get people in general so he dismissed it. As long as she was happy and enthusiastic, he would be more than willing to participate.

A half an hour passed before Maka returned. Her suitcase was parked at her side in the entrance.

"Thankfully, Tsubaki wasn't home yet. Kim said she was still sleeping at Jackie's. Is it alright if I keep my suitcase here? I don't really feel like seeing her."

"Yeah, that's fine." Soul agreed, feeling empathetic about her situation. She parked her luggage by his desk and straightened out her clothes. Maka seemed to have an affinity for skirts, he couldn't recall ever seeing her without one. The one she wore today was a gray corduroy tiered skirt that came down to about mid thigh. Her top was a black jersey inspired tee shirt with the number 42 in blue letters, and black DC shoes. She combed her fingers through her still, somewhat damp hair as she took a seat on his bed.

"So, what's the plan?" Maka smiled up at him as he perched himself next to her, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head on her shoulder.

"Maybe go to a breakfast place in town? Then maybe we can come back and put together a pair of bullshitted costumes for tonight? We could do other stuff too.."

"Sounds good." she chimed; Soul planted a kiss to her jaw.

"Oh by the way, Happy Halloween."

AN: This ending came out of nowhere and yeah... Happy Thanksgiving I should say... I might get this finished winter break we'll see...


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Hello... been a long time, huh? How's everybody doin? I'm sorry for not posting forever guys. I tried to work faster... I blame tumblr... Thanks everyone who's still reading this, this is a really long chapter with smut. Oh I don't own Soul Eater...

The restaurant they decided on was a small diner a few miles from campus. They were seated at a small booth in the back; which worked perfectly as it made their displays-of-affection less noticeable. The two shared the same red vinyl cushioned seat, not wanting any of the space the table would create between them. Soul's fingers drummed on the white speckled countertop, anxiously awaiting his menu. It had been hours since Soul had last eaten, he was naturally famished. The server arrived in a timely manner with two laminated menus and departed shortly after receiving their drink orders. Maka quickly became smitten with the strawberry french toast special, but Soul was having a hard time concentrating. Starving as Soul was, he couldn't stop thinking about this morning and the completely mind blowing events that had taken place. His eyes kept drifting off the page to Maka, who was wearing her hair down to disguise the rather conspicuous hickeys that stained her neck. He was snapped out of his reverie when her dusty green eyes peered up into his.

"Whatcha gonna get?"

"Oh um..." He quickly scanned the menu to find the omelet section. Of course Soul was getting an omelette, it was one of the most filling breakfast foods. He quickly selected the most promising one and pointed it out for Maka.

"Southwestern steak huh? You a fan of Tex-mex or something?"

"That and they claim it's a recipe from Texas in the description, and Texas portions tend to be huge so..." Maka giggled at his reasoning, shaking her head.

"Nice priorities." Maka mused sarcastically. He smirked and shrugged, setting his menu on top of hers.

"Hey, I look fuckin' great; I'll eat what I want. Besides," He checked the time on his phone and slumped his head on her shoulder in mock exhaustion. "It is 10:30, an ungodly hour for a Sunday. I need to get my energy from somewhere."

Maka nuzzled her cheek against Soul's hair, basking in its softness.

"You didn't seem to mind waking up this morning", she remarked casually. His grin grew wider as his hand snaked under the composite table to rest on top of her knee.

"Best. Wakeup call. Ever."

And it had been, he still had a hard time believing it even happened. Soul had seriously been preparing himself for a long period of abstinence before this morning. He stayed up a while after Maka fell asleep, just to think. He had discounted Maka's actions from the night before, how willing she seemed to go all the way with him. He was afraid Maka had just been caught up in heat of the the moment, that she had gotten carried away. That was another reason why he stopped them from going any further. Soul had decided that night that he wanted to see where things went with Maka; he wasn't in any particular hurry to get laid so he would wait as long as she needed him to. Maka was worth it.

Soul expected to wake up to something along the lines of Maka acting extremely bashful and embarrassed, but what he got was the exact opposite. This changed things. Maka made it completely clear that she had no intention of waiting, and Soul had no intention of stopping her. In fact, he intended to take part in her enthusiasm; he didn't have to hold back now. From his place on her shoulder, Soul had an ample view down her shirt and of her long slender legs. It wasn't fair; she had seen so much of him, he wanted the same privilege from her. His hand unconsciously began to slowly trail up her inner thigh. He wanted more of her; he had been so close to exploring her earlier. Next chance he got, Soul wouldn't hesitate.

Soul was lightly pressing his lips to Maka's shoulder before they were interrupted by their waitress who had arrived with their drinks. She raised her eyebrows at the couple's proximity and Soul retracted somewhat, exchanging the hand he had on Maka's thigh to rest an arm over her shoulder. She was a young woman with long brunette hair; wearing a pink dress and white apron with a nametag that said "Lulu" on it. She asked them for their orders in a thick German accent which led Soul to believe that she was one of the exchange students at the university. She departed shortly after, but Soul could've sworn that he heard her whispering to another employee about getting a candle for their table to create a more romantic atmosphere. Soul shook his head, he supposed it was better than being sputtered at and kicked out for his public displays of affection. They were alone again and this time, it was Maka's head resting on Soul's shoulder as they both sat in a comfortable silence.

"I'm not really looking forward to going home tomorrow." Maka sighed in a passing thought. Soul pondered for a moment.

"Yeah, you're going back to LA right? Morning train arrives at 9AM and doesn't arrive at Union Station until 2 in the afternoon, so you'll pretty much miss school."

"Wow, you're really familiar with the train schedules." Maka blinked in surprise. She supposed it made sense though, she did meet him on the train ride here.

"I have to ride the train home a lot. My brother goes home to perform concerts in the city and my parents expect me to leave my studies to support him." There was a hint resentment in his statement that Maka sympathised with. It was really unreasonable to ask Soul to abandon his studies and then expect Soul to excel their expectations. Even for an overachiever like Maka, she still felt that Soul's parents were being absurd. Maka could tell that he didn't want to speak more about the subject by the way he clenched his hands, so she figured the best thing to do was to change it.

"Ah that's unfair... So you're from LA too? What part?" Soul choked on the orange juice he was sipping from at her question. Crap. Soul didn't want Maka to treat him differently when she found out that his family lived in Beverly hills.

"Heh, you wouldn't believe me if I told you. So, you really think it's unfair, huh?" Maka was puzzled; why was Soul being so dismissive?

"Uh, yes... It's not fair that your parents expect you to do well with your studies when they take you away from them so much, but never mind that right now. Why wouldn't I believe you? Do you live at the bottom of the sea or something?" Soul was thoughtful for a moment before he began to nod.

"Yep. I live under the sea. In a pineapple. And I have a gay lover who is a starfish." Soul confirmed, managing to maintain his cool composure the entire time. It was then that realization dawned on Maka.

"I knew there was something fishy about Black*Star." For a while Soul just stared at her before he absolutely died. Soul was broken; his head was folded in his arms to hide his face and he tried to silence his hysterical laughter. It reached a point where he wasn't making noise at all and his body was just shaking. Maka promptly started patting him on the back.

"Soul, shh, it's okay. Calm down. Breeeaaathe." He caught his breath and raised his head. He cracked up a little more before pulling out his phone.

"I gotta tell Black*Star bout this one." He smiled, punching out his text with his thumbs. Maka shook her head.

"So, do you live far from LA?" Maka was somewhat irritated that they were playing the guessing game.

"Not at all." He replied staring at the small screen. Well that narrowed it down somewhat, but she wasn't going to get far if Soul was going to continue to be vague.

"Hmmm, where could it be... You don't strike me as someone from the inner city..."

"Cause I'm not." His amused smirk was infuriating. Maka's fingers drummed against the table as she glared him down until his eyes met with hers. No matter how much she's locked gazes with him, Soul's brilliant red eyes always caught her off guard, faltering Maka a bit.

"Why does it matter where I come from?"

"My point exactly, so why don't you just tell me?"

"I don't want you to treat me differently."

"What?" Maka crossed her arms over her chest as if insulted. "You really think that little of me? Thanks, Soul. Thanks a lot."

Pretty eyes be damned, he was being a jerk. Soul reveled in the feeling of deja` vu before sighing in defeat. Fuck, this was embarrassing.

"You don't seem like a Valley kid either..." Maka continued to observe. Soul chuckled. Well, here goes nothing.

"That makes sense, since my family's from Beverly Hills." Soul flinched when Maka's mouth gaped open. He counted down in his head from five before Maka started stammering with questions.

"Aaaand here we go.."

"What?! You...WHAT?! Have you.. did you.. Oh my gosh... Have you met Whoopi Goldberg?"

Soul choked on the orange juice he had been sipping for a second time.

"What the fuck, why Whoopi Goldberg? Does she even live on the west coast?"

"I don't know, does she?"

"...What?"

"Okay, okay. Have you met The Chili Peppers?" She asked hopefully, Soul laughed.

"Nah, I'd love to though. Wouldn't mind meeting John or Flea."

"Mmmm, I like the singer."

"Of course you like Anthony." She pouted at his comment, grumbling about 'just liking his voice'. Soul couldn't help but be amused by the way chicks digged singers.

"I haven't met many celebrities. My family only relocated there a year ago."

"Oh? Where did you live before?"

"New York, where Black*Star and the Thompsons are." There was an air or sadness in his words, Maka could sympathize.

"So you had to leave your friends? That sucks. Did you at least make new friends?"

"I have no friends in the Hills." Soul spat, indignantly. Like hell he'd want anything to do with those stuck-up imbeciles and their Bourgie habitat.

"Oh Soul." She placed a hand over his on the table while simultaneously giving him a kiss on the cheek. "You got me now at least. I live just downtown." Soul smiled and leaned forward, let his forehead touch with hers. That was right, with her in the city, Maka couldn't be more than 20 minutes away.

"That is definitely an improvement." He whispered before pressing his lips to hers. Maka reciprocated at first and seemed to deepen the kiss, but suddenly she broke away leaving Soul blinking and wondering if he had done something wrong.

"Don't look now..." Maka whispered. "But I think our waitress is waiting for us to finish so she can deliver our food." Just then, Soul turned to look towards the bar counter to see their waitress pretending to casually glance in their direction. When she discovered that Soul and Maka were both looking at her, she jumped, wearing a very 'deer in the headlights' expression. She shuffled over quickly with the tray of food in hand.

"Sorry, don't mind me." She apologised quickly, setting their meals in front of them. She skipped off giggling once she finished. Soul sighed, why must their tender moments always be interrupted? Because Soul and Maka's existence together was one big tender moment, so he might as well get used to it.

Maka's french toast looked awesome, two thick pieces of french bread topped with a berry medley and drizzled in cream cheese. She eagerly cut it with her fork and took a bite, enjoying the way it tasted as good as it looked. She looked out the window while enjoying her food-based euphoria. The town seemed to be in the holiday spirit today, everyone out and about was in costume, even the pets. Walking down the street, there was an absurdly tall man wearing a tree costume and in his branches sat a crow. He was walking a dog wearing sunglasses, a hoodie and a medallion that read the name of "Zi-Dawg" on it. Gangster puppy, how adorable.

It was funny how Soul, Black*Star and the Thompsons ended up attending the same college; New York was a long way from home compared to Soul and Tsubaki, and Black*Star doesn't seem like the type to go all the way across the country to pursue college.

"So how'd you and your friends decide to attend Shibusen? Isn't Nevada a bit far from New York?"

"Black*Star was offered a really good athletic scholarship for basketball and martial arts. Same with the Thompsons. There's a really good fashion photography program here for Liz and Patty is doing athletic training. For me, Shibusen was a good alternative to Juilliard when I was wait listed there. Also at Shibusen, I'd be able to pursue a different major if my parents ever came around about it." Soul continued eating his impressively portioned omelette to avoid bumming himself further about his family situation. Maka poked at piece of strawberry with her fork.

"Woah, funny how stuff works out huh?"

"Yeah, a really beautiful coincidence. Although, it's not like I didn't apply to SU when I found out Black*Star was going there. And it wasn't like I hadn't been anticipating being wait listed at Juilliard." Soul admitted, eating the last bite of his meal. So, it had been somewhat planned. Maka rolled her eyes, she really didn't like the way Soul kept putting himself down. He was better than he gave himself credit for. Maka just knew it.

"You still haven't played for me, you know."

"And?"

"I still want you to!"

"Haha, no you don't." He casually dismissed when her features set into a defiant pout. She huffed, crossing her arms and Soul was at a loss about how to change the subject. Just then, like a savior, the waitress in pink swept in once again.

"Finished with your plate? I'll take that. Is there anything else I can get for you?" Soul gave her a look of thankfulness and their server answered him back with a subtle nod. He gawked at her response, realizing this had been an intentional rescue.

"Just the check, please." With that, she collected their dishes, noticing that Maka was finished with her breakfast as well. Now that Maka was distracted, Soul promptly changed the subject.

"You still up for the festival tonight? I mean, I know it was something that you and Tsubaki were gonna do together. And the costume thing..." Soul tip-toed around the subject, not wanting to put Maka in a sour mood.

"Well, we can still go, right? I mean, if you want to. I don't know, I guess I'll figure something out about the costume."

"'Course. And it's not like costumes are required, anyways." After discussing their options a bit longer, the waitress came back to deliver the check. Soul left the money in the leather folder, making sure to leave a reasonable tip for their service.

The ride home was short and warm, the heat of the Nevada desert was reasonably tame with the temperature in the low 80's. However, when they arrived back to Soul's room, the temperature was sweltering and uninhabitable. Without any means of air conditioning, the two settled in front of the lounge TV, snuggling into each other as they quietly watched one of the various Halloween Specials being programmed. It was about midway through Hocus Pocus that an insistent buzzing started to come from one Maka's skirt pockets. The vibration alerts from her phone were so close together that Maka thought she was receiving a call; she was surprised to discover that they were messages were from Tsubaki blowing up Maka's inbox. Without reading the messages, Maka held down the power button on her phone, shutting it off. She grimaced as she shoved the device back into her pocket; Soul wrapped his arms tighter around her frame in sympathy, resting his chin top of her head.

"I'm guessing she discovered the missing suitcase?"

"Probably. I don't really give a shit what she wants. I really don't want to deal with her right now." Maka scorned, still resenting her 'friend's' actions. Maka was not in a forgiving mood and Tsubaki was not the person she wanted to think about.

"Mmm, good for you." She could feel his voice rumble against her temple. Maka blushed; she was still new to all of this and she was unsure how to respond to his affections. She didn't know why she was feeling so bashful now; she was behaving awfully confident this morning. Perhaps it was the change in Soul's disposition thats made Maka so sheepish. He wasn't being so contemplative or cautious about his advancements as before. He was a shameless flirt in the diner with the only hesitations he had now were for teasing. It didn't seem like Soul had any intentions of holding back anymore and this made Maka excited with a hint of nervousness.

The movie had just came back from commercial break when Maka felt another buzzing against her hip. Soul awkwardly wedged a hand in between them to retrieve the phone from his pocket. He tapped the screen to read his message and he raised his eyebrows at the text.

"So, uh, Black*Star says that Tsubaki reeeally wants to talk to you and that if one of us doesn't message them back in the next sixty seconds, she's gonna come looking for you."

Oh no, fuck this. Maka was not going to have this confrontation right now. She sat up panicked and gave Soul a pleading look.

"Hide me."

With that command, Soul sprung up from the couch, taking Maka's hand as he did. He took a quick glance at his surroundings before he rushed them around a corridor in the opposite direction of his room. He stopped at a door parallel from the dorm's laundry room. He jiggled the handle and discovering that it was locked, Soul fished out his bank card from his wallet and began sliding it in the crease between the door and the threshold. After a few tries, the pair was finally inside. Just in time too, as they could hear people emerging from the staircase and a single distraught call of Maka's name from Tsubaki. They could hear Black*Star consoling her, telling her they'd wait for Maka in his room. Maka looked around to make a quick observation of their hiding spot. Wonderful idea Black*Star, now Soul and Maka were trapped inside a custodians supply closet.

"Whose side is this guy on?" Maka whispered as she heard the sound of Soul's dorm room door click shut.

"The side he wants to bone." Soul explained casually, as if he had comes to terms with this condition long ago. He wore a smirk that pestered Maka somewhat. How could he be so pleased given the situation they were in?

"What do we do,Soul? Should we try to sneak out of the building and hope they eventually leave?"

"Ah, I dunno if that'll work. You have to walk by our room to get to the exit or stairs, but Black*Star likes to keep the door propped open. We wouldn't be able to get out without being seen by him."

Soul's smirk descended into a full-on grin and Maka scowled on him. She wanted to smack the amusement from his features. His good mood infuriated her.

"What the hell, Soul, how can you be so calm? It could be hours before they decide to give up. What are we suppose to do with that time?" She was stressfully tugging at her hair, her way of getting a better grip on the situation. What if they had to spend all of Halloween amongst boxes of toilet paper and floor mops? Suddenly, he was close; Maka could feel the exhale from his nose tickle her bangs.

"Chill out, Maka. Everything's gonna be fine." Soul pried Maka's hands from her head and interlaced her fingers with his. He let their joined hands fall to rest at their sides and placed his forehead against hers. Maka made a mental note that while his close proximity did well to calm her, it was making her anticipate other things.

"I might have a few ideas of...stuff we could do." His voice was quiet and soft. Soul was teasing her again, his lips lingered a fraction from hers. The implications of his words gave Maka goosebumps and made her breath catch in her throat.

"Oh?" The question came out more timidly than she intended, her voice was shaky. Soul's hands parted with hers and trailed up her stomach to her waist, riding her shirt up so he could make contact with her skin. Maka didn't know why her face felt so warm, why she was so flustered. Regardless, she was blushing hard under Soul's half-lidded gaze, crimson eyes searing into her skin.

"Only if you want to..."

The baritone tremor of his voice combined with the caress of his fingers against her stomach made Maka release a small whimper. Soul let his actions speak for themselves, finally pressing his mouth to hers. The kiss was slow as their tongues got reacquainted until Soul casually slid one of his hands down to Maka's ass for a small feel. Maka responded rather enthusiastically, humming into his mouth and pressing her body back against his. Soul inhaled sharply through his nose before he became more heated with his actions. His mouth moved against hers with renewed vigor and his hands became more adventurous, trailing from her ass to fondling a breast and back again.

Without breaking the kiss, Soul's hands slid down to her hips, lifted her up and set her on the top edge of a large stack of boxes. She was at perfect level with him now; Soul ran his hands down her thighs to find her knees, pulling them apart and settling in between them. Maka ground into him reflexively and soon, Soul reciprocated by grinding right back. He pulled away, his teeth grazing at her bottom lip before he latched onto her neck.

Soul was being more gentle this time, alternating between nibbling and licking. He was also being careful to not leave anymore marks for others to see, no matter how tempted he was. She let out a gasp when Soul ran his tongue along her collarbone, while he unabashedly fondled her chest. Maka wrapped her arms around Soul's neck to ground herself. She was having a hard time keeping up with what was happening; her brain was too busy trying to register everything from the touches, the sounds and the hot breaths against her skin. Maka began coming back to reality when she felt his hand snake up under her shirt to feel her bare skin. She completely snapped out of it when she felt his hand graze up her thigh and disappear under her skirt.

"Haah, Soul! What are you doing?" Maka asked breathlessly. He slowed down with his actions in response, but his fingers still continued to fiddle with the zipper on the side of her hip.

"Mmm? Want me to stop?" He mumbled into her shoulder between kisses. "If ya want me to, just tell me."

He slowly pulled down the collar of Maka's shirt, gauging her reaction. When she didn't protest, Soul began pulling away her bra cups as well. He pulled away to watch as her breasts were exposed to him, taking her in for a second before latching his mouth onto a nipple. A cry escaped Maka at the unexpected sensation, her fingers tangled in his hair as she gripped his scalp to bring him closer. His tongue was sending weird, amazing signals to the rest of her body. Maka's blood felt like it was boiling, her core ached for contact as she tempted to touch herself, but she was much too shy to do something like that in front of him.

Soul was way ahead of her though; the hand that wasn't occupied with her breast slid from her ass to massage her from outside of the thin material of her panties. Maka mewled as her head lolled back. She thought she heard him make a comment about how wet she was but Maka was too distracted to be sure. His ministrations didn't last long but before she had a chance to protest, Soul spoke up.

"Hey, can these come off?" He plucked at her skirt and underwear to indicate what he meant. Maka blinked at his weighted question.

"Y-you wanna do...that? Here? Now?"

"Nah, not yet and not here." he answered, knowing exactly what she had implied. "It's something else that I really wanna try, if thats alright."

Maka hesitated for a few seconds before she nodded. She leaned back with her arms propped up behind her in assistance. He wore the most fucking pleased smirk as he hooked his fingers around the garments and slowly pulled them off her hips and down her legs. Maka's thighs quivered as he tossed her clothes aside. Soul took in the sight of her parted legs, her flushed face and her pink glistening folds completely on display for him. He let out a long shaky breath. He could feel his mouth watering, he abruptly closed it to keep from drooling over her. Maka began to squirm under his gaze; she couldn't deal with him looking at her like that. She felt so exposed.

"Soul! Quit looking at me like that..." She whined blashfully. Soul's smouldering gaze slowly met hers. He opened his mouth to reply with anything but all that came out was a needy drawl.

"Maaka..."

Soul was on her in an instant, crashing his lips to hers and running his hands up her thighs. He didn't waste anytime rubbing his fingers against her slit, his inexperienced hand exploring new territory. He fondled her clit, gauging Maka's reaction to see what she responded to most. It was hard to tell though, she was very enthusiastic about anything he did. Maka was so worked up and hot that she was hypersensitive to all stimulation. Soul continued to thumb her nub while his fingers started feeling around her opening; she was so slippery! Slowly, he sunk in his middle digit, Maka writhed and moaned at his motions. Poor Maka looked uncomfortable trying to experience this while sitting up; she needed to relax and enjoy herself.

"Hey, Maka," He spoke with his finger still inside her. "Lay back for me, okay?"

She obliged him as Soul continued to pump inside her, her back resting against the somewhat dusty cardboard and her feet propped up on the edge of the box.

Soul wasn't completely ignorant on the subject of female pleasure. He was friends with Liz and Patty since highschool and those two had absolutely no filter. So naturally, Soul had been lectured on a few occasions about how to touch a woman. No matter how absurd he thought it was at the time, he was extremely thankful to have the secondhand-knowledge now. As soon as Maka seemed comfortable, Soul added another finger and began curling them inside her. It was amazing with the ways her walls twitched and rippled around him, and the way her chest rose and fell with her labored breathing. She felt incredible and Soul wished it was his cock that was buried deep inside her. But, a supply closet wasn't the place for a first time and like the dumbass virgin that he was, Soul hadn't stuck a condom in his wallet.

"Is that good, Maka? You gonna come for me?" She was so fucking hot that Maka was making his breathing hard. Her hair was sprawled all around her face, her flush reached past her collarbones and she made needy little moans as she tossed her head from side to side.

"Mmm, I don't know, I just... Ah! Soul, don't stop..." She protested when he removed his hand to kneel before her. With his head between her knees, Soul took her calves and lifted them to rest on his shoulders.

"We can't have that." Soul chimed softly, lightly nibbling at the sensitive skin on her inner thigh. Maka shuddered as he worked his way up her trembling legs while he switched between the two, worrying the skin with his teeth and tongue.

"Haah, Soul! What are you..." The question died with a gasp from feeling his hot breath against her own heated center. SMaka was unsure about this; she was worried about her scent or taste being off-putting. These were silly insecurities as Soul found her scent and everything else very alluring. His mouth was just watering to taste her!

"I really want to..." He asked her for the final permission with his eyes and after a moment, Maka sheepishly nodded.

Soul discovered lots of new favorites that day. His new favorite place was between Maka's legs. His new favorite thing to eat was Maka. His new favorite sound was Maka calling his name in ecstasy and oral was his new favorite activity.

Soul started his meal with one long languid lick up her slit and he was right: Maka tasted amazing. He began laving at her walls with fervor and he worked his way down to her entrance while prodding his tongue inside. Maka tasted curiously metallic there, Soul decided as he replaced his tongue with his fingers. His mouth was on her clit; he used his other hand to spread her folds apart for better access.

Maka wrapped her legs around his head to brace herself and stop herself from convulsing too much. She was losing control of her body but she was lost deep in her pleasure. Her hands grabbed at Soul's head in an attempt to keep his mouth where it was. She didn't want him to stop doing that amazing thing with his tongue. She was tugging at his hair and Soul fucking loved it. Soul nibbled at her pink flesh, sucking at the bundle of nerves while he simultaneously pumped his fingers inside.

Maka felt the pressure build in her lower abdomen, her back arched and her legs were shaking around him. She came hard, bucking into Soul's mouth with a high pitched gasp and a long, drawn-out sigh. Her walls twitched and contracted around his fingers, but Soul didn't stop his ministrations until she collapsed back onto the cardboard surface, completely spent. He gave her one more long lick before he pulled away, wiping his face on the back of his hand. He surveyed his handiwork smugly; Maka's form was spread-eagled and her eyes were closed as she worked on catching her breath.

She opened her eyes to see him standing before her while his hand attempted to brush away some of the bangs plastered to her forehead. He looked very pleased with himself and if Maka hadn't been so dazed, she wouldn't have boosted his ego further by saying,

"That was pretty awesome."

"Haha, I agree."

Maka's eyes wandered to the very obvious bulge in Soul's pants and thought how uncomfortable he had to be in the confines of those jeans.

"What should we do now?" She asked without breaking eye contact from his crotch. He got the hint and smiled.

"You tell me." She reached over to touch the front of his jeans. Maka could feel him twitch under the denim fabric while Soul inhaled sharply, gripping the edge of the box for support. She sat up and slid down from her perch. She continued to palm his erection as she pressed her mouth to his; Maka could still taste herself on him. They were going at it for a moment until Soul froze. In the quiet, they could hear the voice of a woman saying something about getting more paper towels.

"Shit."

"Soul, what?"

"Hurry up and get dressed!" The two both scrambled about, picking up random, discarded clothing. Maka was tripping over herself trying to get dressed, but she'd managed to get her skirt zippered just as the door knob began to turn.

AN: Welp. That was eventful. Lots of authors of the SE fandom made Cameos in this Chapter: Lueur de Laube, Dragonofthesky, Lacrow, and ZiDawg. Very supportive people who have helped me through this endeavor. I post about the progress of my updates on tumblr, if you would like to follow me there~ Also reviews are very much appreciated. Thanks for sticking around everyone! *gives every reader a cookie*


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